Supercharging the radars for pathogen surveillance

Brown rust of wheat, caused by the fungus Puccinia triticina, is one of the key threats to the yield of wheat in the UK and across Europe. Although it is sporadic in its appearance, in epidemic years losses in the UK can exceed £20 million. The brown rust pathogen population is routinely monitored as part of the UK Cereal Pathogen Virulence Survey (UKCPVS) and this provides information and early warning to farmers and wheat breeders that previously resistant wheat varieties may be under threat. However, despite the success of the UKCPVS and our understanding of the phenotypic diversity of brown rust of wheat, we know almost nothing about its genetic diversity.

In response, we recently developed an approach called "field pathogenomics" for pathogen population surveillance based on high-resolution transcriptome data for a related rust pathogen (Hubbard et al., 2015). Our new approach based on next-generation sequencing technology enables the rapid generation of high-resolution genotypic data for integration into pathogen surveillance activities that is vital to improve our understanding of the genetic sub-structure within a population. The aim of this PhD studentship project is to specifically develop the "field pathogenomics" methodology for wheat brown rust.