The Expert Working Group on Control of Wheat Pathogens would like to invite to their fifth webinar !

Dr. Brande Wulff from the Centre for Desert Agriculture at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Saudi Arabia will be speaking about “Harnessing genetic diversity in wheat and its wild relatives for disease resistance”.

Abstract: Genetic diversity for disease resistance has been eroded in bread wheat through polyploidisation, domestication and breeding. We have developed sequence-configured panels of wheat and wild progenitors for high-throughput identification of disease resistance genes by association mapping or mutational genomics [1-4]. Cloned resistance genes can speed up resistance breeding through generation of GM stacks [5] or by conventional marker-assisted selection in combination with speed breeding [6,7]. We propose internationally coordinated efforts to clone and characterize wheat resistance genes to facilitate a more judicious deployment of resistance genes in GM and conventional breeding programmes [8].

Wulff is a molecular plant pathologist and geneticist. He uses high throughput DNA sequencing and bioinformatics to identify genes restricting stem rust and Septoria tritici blotch, two major diseases of wheat. His long-term aim is to use cloned genes from wild ancestors of wheat to engineer durable resistance to these diseases in cultivated wheat. Dr. Wulff recently took up a faculty position in the Centre for Desert Agriculture at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Saudi Arabia. Prior to this he worked for ten years in the John Innes Centre and The Sainsbury Laboratory, Norwich, UK.

Please join on  Tuesday Oct 3, early morning 6 am Calgary time via the link https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_YjZiNTA2MzEtNzkxMC00ZTcxLWFlNDctZGRmYjlhNWM3ZjAw%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%229da98bb1-1857-4cc3-8751-9a49e35d24cd%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%2229719dd4-9895-4fd3-8e9e-b8827910d03e%22%7d Dr.