Researchers at the John Innes Centre in the UK, with colleagues at Kobe University in Japan, have created a new way to protect cereals against blast, a disease caused by the fungus Magnaporthe oryzae that attacks rice, wheat and barley. The study was published in Science Advances.
The team modified plant immune proteins called TKPs so that they recognise two different molecules the fungus uses to infect wheat and barley, rather than just one.
Blast destroys enough rice every year to feed around 60 million people. Initial tests were carried out in isolated wheat cells, where the modified receptors recognised both fungal molecules.
The next step is to test protection in whole plants, first in the greenhouse and then in the field. The scientists also want to combine these receptors with other defence mechanisms to create cereals with layered protection.
