Modelling strategies for durable deployment of resistance
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Cambridge
Department Name: Plant Sciences
Abstract
Control of crop disease, be it by spraying chemicals, by planting resistant varieties, or by any other method, is deployed at the scale of the individual field. However, successful control depends on the management of disease at regional and national scales. How far and how fast a pathogen spreads through a landscape and, indeed, whether or not it persists and for how long, depends upon the topology of susceptible host and how this compares to the typical dispersal scale of pathogens. This details of the interaction changes in both time and space as the susceptible crops are moved around the landscape. Attempting to understand the effect of spatial patterning of host on pathogen dynamics has a long history (van der Plank, 1948), and is still an active area of reseach (Cunniffe et al., 2015). Exploratory work has shown how to adapt the work of DeWoody et al. (2005) to include crop rotation and overwintering in a spatially-structured metapopulation-type model of the agricultural mosaic. A starting point for this project would involve understanding how this can be used to inform strategies for deployment of control. The framework could also be extended, most notably to understand the effects of within-field dynamics, synchronicity in planting and harvesting, and stochasticity in disease spread. Understanding how the landscape structure affects the spread of disease would have a number of applications, feeding into an improved understanding not only of how crop diseases can be controlled effectively, but also of pathogen evolutionary change (e.g. fungicide resistance).
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
Nik Cunniffe (Primary Supervisor) | |
Benjamin Watkinson-Powell (Student) |
Publications
Watkinson-Powell B
(2020)
Modelling spatial strategies for the durable deployment of crop disease resistance
Watkinson-Powell B
(2020)
When Does Spatial Diversification Usefully Maximize the Durability of Crop Disease Resistance?
in Phytopathology
Watkinson-Powell B
(2020)
When Does Spatial Diversification Usefully Maximize the Durability of Crop Disease Resistance?
Studentship Projects
Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Student Name |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
BB/M011194/1 | 30/09/2015 | 31/03/2024 | |||
1645399 | Studentship | BB/M011194/1 | 30/09/2015 | 29/09/2019 | Benjamin Watkinson-Powell |
Description | Spatial hetergeneity, in the arrangement of fields of different host genotypes in an agricultural landscape, has been shown to have a significant impact on the severity of crop disease epidemics, and on the durability of disease resistance genes. These spatial effects have been studied in a wide variety of host/pathogen genetic contexts, and over a range of eco-evolutionary timescales. Based on the genetic properties of the disease system, and on the time scale of interest/relevance, the efficacy of spatial strategies for supressing disease can be evaluated. |
Exploitation Route | The findings will be taken forward by producing publications, and by expanding the scope of the research within the remaining time of the studentship award. |
Sectors | Agriculture Food and Drink Environment |
Title | Landscape resistance durability model |
Description | A mathematical/computational model that can be used to simulate plant disease epidemics in a spatially explicit agricultural landscape. The epidemiological and evolutionary dynamics of the system can be explored using a wide variety of host landscape structures and genetic parameters. |
Type Of Material | Computer model/algorithm |
Year Produced | 2017 |
Provided To Others? | No |
Impact | This computer model is currently the central focus of the research project, and it is used to produce results outputs for analysis. |
Description | Cambridge Science Festival |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Our lab group had a stand at the Cambridge Science Festival, which aims to engage and educate members of the public about the research taking place at the University of Cambridge. Our presentation followed a similar format to our Science Museum Lates presentation, in that it combined talking about the general work of the group with discussing our own individual research projects. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | First Year Talk |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | This was my first year talk that we are required to give to the Cambridge Plant Sciences Department, prior to the submission of our first year report. In the talk I communicated to the audience, made up of a mix of post graduate students and academic staff, the background initial findings and plans for future work, of my PhD project. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | Science Museum Lates |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | My lab group had a stand at one of the (London) Science Museum Lates events where we presented the group's work as a whole, but also spoke extensively to members of the public about our own research projects. Part of the presentation was teaching people about a computer game (link below), developed by some members of the group, which educated people about the challenges of combating plant disease outbreaks. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
URL | http://www.phytofighter.com/ |