Research closer to SNB resistant wheat

Department of Agriculture and Food senior research officer Michael Francki will deliver stagnospora nodorum blotch (SNB) resistant germplasm to breeders in 2017, if there are successful trials next year.

SNB is widespread across the Wheatbelt, especially the high rainfall zone, which results in shrivelled grain and average yield losses of nine per cent.

"This is fairly major fungal pathogen of wheat in WA and it's really been very difficult for wheat breeders to breed for high level resistance to this pathogen," Dr Francki said.

"Even if we get a little better resistance than what we have, even if we reduce it by 30pc, that's something like $30m saved for the industry."

Dr Francki said there was no local SNB resistance when he started the research.

He is using new genomic technology from counterparts in Victoria to identify and track gene combinations that produce resistance to SNB for future use in breeding new commercial wheat varieties.

The research is funded by the Grains Research and Development Corporation's (GRDC) Effective Genetic Control of SNB project, with wheat gene and DNA marker analysis from the State Agricultural Biotechnology Centre at Murdoch University.

"We're essentially doing the final proof of concept to see which resistance genes combinations gives us the best levels of resistance to this particular pathogen," Dr Francki said.

"We're looking at the expression of the resistance in relevant production environments in WA when you combine several genes.

"We need a proof of concept that a particular gene combination will express high levels of resistance in the field."

Dr Francki will have at least two trial sites in WA over the next four seasons to test his research in a production environment.

"Once we get that validation and show that gene combinations do express high levels of resistance from multi-environment and successive year trials we will send that germplasm to the breeding companies and the DNA markers that have been used to combine and select those genes," he said.

If suitable germplasm is made available to Australian wheat breeding companies in 2017 it will take at least five years to develop new commercial varieties.

Dr Francki said the work was important because it would link wheat breeders with proven research and development.

"I'm certainly the R&D link for this project," he said.

"I am doing the basic R&D and largely translating that R&D to make sure that it's going to be of benefit to commercial breeders and also to growers."

Dr Francki said on-going research work would be needed on SNB resistance as the fungus had easily overcome existing resistance.

"It has the potential to evade host resistance so we're keen to add to this resistance material to ensure longevity for SNB resistance," he said.

"We've always got to have something coming up behind to either replace or add on top of what we already have."