Durable Rust Resistance in WheatPhase I Progress / Phase II Prospects

Ronnie Coffman, Vice Chair, BGRIDirector, DRRW

Cornell University18 April 2011

ICARDAAleppo, Syria

AcknowledgementsSathguru Management Consultants, IndiaICAR Leadership and ScientistsRobert Park, University of SydneyKumarse Nazari, ICARDASridhar Bhavani, CIMMYT NairobiHans Braun, CIMMYT HQRavi Singh, CIMMYT HQMike Pumphrey, WSUHei Leung, IRRIBedada Girma, EIARPeter Njau, KARI- NjoroDave Hodson, FAO (formerly CIMMYT)Gordon Cisar, DRRWSarah Davidson, DRRW

http://wheatrust.cornell.edu http://www.globalrust.org

Bill & Melinda Gates FoundationKatherine Kahn

Stripe Rust Susceptible in the Background

Stripe Rust Resistant in the Foreground

Stripe Rust can Benefit the War on Stem Rust

Wheat Stem Rust Ug99

Defeats genetic resistance that has protected most of the world for 30 years

Variety PBW343 grown on over 7 million hectares in South Asia

International wheat screening nursery at Kulumsa, Ethiopia

Ronnie Coffman with Dr. Norman Borlaug March 2008

Courtesy of Peter Njau, KARI

Kenya

Rust never sleepsbut it abides in East Africa

Perpetual Green Wheat

20092009

20092009

1998/91998/9 20012001

20032003

20062006

20072007

? ?

Wheat stem rust race Ug99 emerged from Uganda in 1999

Turkey

Iran

Saudi Arabia

Afghanistan

Pakistan

IndiaEgypt

Sudan

Ethiopia

Kenya

IraqSyria

Nepal

Yemen

Risk Zone 1: Wheat Areas Only (Totals)• 1 Billion People• 117 Million Tons Production (c.19% world production)• Value US$16.4 Billion (using US$140/t)

Potential Risk Areas – An Initial Assessment

AGP-FAO Wheat Rust Disease

Global Program

Cereal System Initiative for South Asia

(CSISA)

Projects

And many more…

Durable Rust Resistance in Wheat Project

(DRRW)

Durable Rust Resistance in Wheat

Objectives● Planning for the Threat of Emerging Wheat Rust Variants● Advocating and Coordinating Global Cooperation● Surveillance● Critical Facilities in East Africa● Breeding

6-8. Pre-breeding

9. Rice Immunity●Project Management

DRRW Phase I: 26.8 M USD, 3 years +1

• Scientists from more than 20 countries trained in surveillance.

• Standardized, geo-referenced rust surveys developed for 14 countries

• Rustmapper: predicts movement of rust spores

• New diagnostic markers developed to fingerprint the pathogen

• Pathogen sequencing efforts

• Evolution of the Ug99 lineage monitored in at-risk regions

Progress Update: surveillance

Ruth Wanyera (KARI) and Dave Hodson (FAO)

India Provides Regional Leadership for Wheat Rust Surveillance and Monitoring

• DRRW-ICAR training program 25th February – 14th March 2010.

• DWR-Shimla and Karnal trained 12 scientists from Afghanistan, Nepal, and India in surveillance and monitoring.

• IARI Station in Wellington, University of Agricultural Sciences at Dharwad, Directorate of Wheat Research-Karnal, Punjab Agricultural University at Ludhiana, Flowerdale station-Shimla

“Global surveillance and monitoring is essential”

- Dr. Swapan Datta, 2010 BGRI Workshop

• 26,800 lines of wheat and barley evaluated from 20 countries / institutions during the main- and off-seasons in 2008 at KARI-Njoro; 48,500 lines in 2009

• 17,000 durum wheat lines evaluated at EIAR-Debre Zeit in 2009

• 25 scientists at Ug99 screening nursery in Kenya for the rust scoring course held from 5th – 12th October 2010.

• Data sharing & management

Progress Update: critical facilities

● Screening nurseries enhanced in Kenya & Ethiopia

• Several Ug99-resistant lines id’d that are candidates for varietal release, incl 15 lines distributed to 6 at-risk countries

• 80% of crosses made by CIMMYT/ICARDA spring wheat breeding programs have at least one Ug99 resistant parent

• Global exchange of Ug99-resistant germplasm

• Pre-release seed multiplication of resistant lines initiated in several at-risk countries (Ethiopia, Egypt, ex.) Success of US AID-funded Famine Seed Project

• 4 rust research centres from India are screening Indian wheat germplasm for Ug99 resistance in Kenya and Ethiopia.

Progress Update: breeding

Kingbird, best source of APR resistance. Courtesy of Ravi Singh, CIMMYT

Breeding Priorities: Importance of Durable Resistance

● Responsible breeding means knowing the genetic basis of resistance.

● Know what you are releasing

● Strategic deployment of resistance genes essential.

● APR/ multiple minor gene approach

● Multiple non-segregating major genes “stacked”

● Combination of minor and major genes

Kakaba (Picaflor #1), Gonde Seed Farm (near Kulumsa), Ethiopia. Bedada Girma, Eshetu Sisay (Farm Manager) & Ronnie Coffman

• Lines with multiple Ug99 resistance genes are underway

• Progress mapping APR genes

By the end of 2010:• Breeders will be using 12 Sr genes that

are either optimized or newly discovered genes

• Breeders will be using more robust and diagnostic markers for at least 10 Sr genes.

Progress Update: pre-breeding

Phase I -> Phase II Transition

Year 1(2008)

Year 3(2010)

Year 2 (2009)

1 Year Extension

(2011)

Year 4(2014)

Year 3(2013

Year 2 (2012)

Year 1(2011)

Year 5(2015)

Phase Ifunded at $26.8M

Phase IIfunded at $40M

$25M from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF)

$15M from the Department for International Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom

DRRW Phase II.

• Obj. 21: Seed systems interventions• Obj. 22: Advocacy for additional investments• Obj. 23: Surveillance of the pathogen• Obj. 24: East Africa screening nursery facilities• Obj. 25: Breeding durably resistant varieties• Obj. 26: Pre-breeding (gene discovery, markers)• Obj. 27: Ethiopian wheat breeding program• Obj. 28: Project management and coordination

DRRW Gender Strategy• Encourage women to work in wheat

– Jeanie Borlaug Laube Women in Triticum (WIT) Award; IT Mentor Award

• Invest in technologies that lessen work-life conflict– Genomic Selection

• Employ “whole-family” participatory variety selection– Dharwad and Ethiopia

Whole-family Participatory Variety Selection:Bridging the gap between breeders and farmers to ensure that

new varieties satisfy farmers’ preferences.

• On-station evaluation of male/female preferences and variety trait trade-offs (including post-harvest characteristics)

• Mother/baby trials testing pre-release varieties under farmers’ conditions

2010 WIT Award winners honored at BGRI Meeting in St. Petersburg

•Surveillance data collection and sharing

•Politics & implementation of gene management

•Seed systems lacking, deployment and adoption of new varieties

•The pathogen is moving and evolving—Ug99 family of 5

•Communication & buy in from key stakeholders at national levels

•Current stripe rust epidemic in Central Asia and the US

•Capacity limitations at East African screening nurseries

•Increased capacity for pathogen analysis

•Co-funding: getting more donors to the table to sustain wheat rust research

Challenges for the BGRI…

A Durable Rust Research Community

• Collective responsibility to replace wheat varieties and secure global wheat crop

• Foster long-term scientific collaborations that out live specific funding or projects

• BGRI will continue to work to raise awareness and funds for much-needed wheat research – this was Dr. Borlaug’s vision

Stripe Rust Susceptible in the Background

Stripe Rust Resistant in the Foreground

Stripe Rust can Benefit the War on Stem Rust

http://www.globalrust.org