A fungus that could damage U.S. wheat crops is on its way from Africa, and a WSU professor will chair a national committee to prepare the recovery plan.
Since its discovery several years ago, the stem rust fungus Ug99 has been travelling and traversing great distances. It most recently was found in Iran.
Tim Murray, professor of plant pathology and an expert on wheat diseases, will lead a multistate, multiagency effort to prepare a recovery plan should Ug99 be introduced to the United States. In addition, he will participate in an international conference in March to address the threat.
The conference is being organized by Norman Borlaug, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for contributions to the Green Revolution. He has continued as an advocate for agriculture in the developing world.
The Borlaug Global Rust Initiative was established by several international agricultural research centers in response to Ug99. Its overarching objectives are: reducing the world’s vulnerability to rust diseases of wheat; advocating for a sustainable international system to contain the threat of wheat rusts; and withstanding future global threats to wheat.
“This conference brings together the world’s experts on wheat rusts to discuss all aspects of the current state of knowledge of Ug99,” Murray said.
“The challenge with Ug99 is to know when it appears, since stem rust is well-established in the United States. Enhancing existing surveillance activities to improve our ability to detect Ug99 is critical,” he said.
“The invitation to lead this national effort is a recognition of Dr. Murray’s expertise in this area and WSU’s role as a pre-eminent institution in research on various aspects of wheat,” said Hanu Pappu, chair of the Plant Pathology Department.
Scot Hulbert, R. James Cook Endowed Chair in Cropping Systems Pathology and a world-renowned researcher on plant-pathogen interactions, and Xianming Chen, research geneticist with USDA-ARS and an adjunct professor in plant pathology, also will represent WSU at the conference.
