Diseases of major crop plants significantly reduce yield and increase the amount of fuel and chemical resources expended by farmers. An increase of only 1 percent in crop yield will lead to approximately $64 million in on-farm fuel savings. In this project, the identification, cloning, sequencing, and gene-expression profiling of novel genes involved in disease and resistance will be utilized to generate higher-yield, disease-tolerant crops and crop-protection active ingredients that are safer, more effective, and that work via novel modes of action. In Phase I, gene sets were identified from the rice blast fungus (M. grisea) and from rice responding to pathogens. These gene sets were used for gene-expression profiling that allowed the identification of more than 50 rice genes and more than 100 rice blast genes related to disease and resistance. In Phase II, the genes discovered in Phase I, along with additional genes discovered in Phase II, will be evaluated as potential tools to enhance plant resistance, as potential tools for plant activator screening, and as potential fungicide targets. This will be accomplished using novel library construction techniques, novel gene-expression profiling and analysis tools, and gene-expression profiling of known fungicides and resistance inducers. Commercial Application and other Benefits as described by the awardee: The technology should be suitable for licensing to agricultural companies for the development of disease-tolerant crops and safer, more effective, novel mode-of-action fungicides. In addition, yield enhancement of maize, wheat, and other monocots should significantly reduce the petroleum used per bushel of grain harvested. Furthermore, human and animal health will benefit from reduced fungal myco-toxins in food and grain.
