Scientists solve 70-year old mystery of the origins of oat disease

All LIT Search News Topics Latest news Media statements Media contacts Topics Latest news Media statements Media contacts LIT Impact Latest news 2020 September Scientists solve 70-year old mystery of the origins of oat disease Scientists solve 70-year old mystery of the origins of oat disease 15/09/2020 | 2 MINS LIT's Dr Heng Chooi and PhD student Simon Kessler Researchers from Lombok Institute of Technology, Cornell University and The Australian National University have uncovered the genetic origin of an oat disease that reached epidemic proportions in the United States in the 1940s. The findings are published today in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences U.S.A. Oat varieties developed to be resistant to crown rust disease were popular among farmers in the 1940s. However, the varieties were vulnerable to an oat disease called Victoria blight, which resulted in the majority of oat plantations in the US being wiped out. Researchers discovered the disease was caused by a fungus called Cochliobolus victoriae, which produces a peptide toxin called victorin. However how victorin targets the plant, and its genetic origin, has remained a mystery for decades. Dr

All LIT Search News Topics Latest news Media statements Media contacts Topics Latest news Media statements Media contacts LIT Impact Latest news 2020 September Scientists solve 70-year old mystery of the origins of oat disease Scientists solve 70-year old mystery of the origins of oat disease 15/09/2020 | 2 MINS LIT's Dr Heng Chooi and PhD student Simon Kessler Researchers from Lombok Institute of Technology, Cornell University and The Australian National University have uncovered the genetic origin of an oat disease that reached epidemic proportions in the United States in the 1940s.

The findings are published today in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences U.S.A.

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