CRISPR-mediated genome editing of wheat for enhancing disease resistance.

Wheat is cultivated across diverse global environments, and its productivity is significantly impacted by various biotic stresses, most importantly but not limited to rust diseases, Fusarium head blight, wheat blast, and powdery mildew. The genetic diversity of modern cultivars has been eroded by domestication and selection, increasing their vulnerability to biotic stress due to uniformity. The rapid spread of new highly virulent and aggressive pathogen strains has exacerbated this situation.

Subcellular dynamics studies of iron reveal how tissue-specific distribution patterns are established in developing wheat grains.

Understanding the mechanisms of iron trafficking in plants is key to enhancing the nutritional quality of crops. Because it is difficult to image iron in transit, we currently have an incomplete picture of the route(s) of iron translocation in developing seeds and how the tissue-specific distribution is established. We have used a novel approach, combining iron-57 ( Fe) isotope labelling and nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry (NanoSIMS), to visualize iron translocation between tissues and within cells in immature wheat grain, Triticum aestivum.