denmark's investment in the global rust reference center (grrc)

Mogens Støvring Hovmøller, Annemarie F Justesen, Chris K Sørensen, Sajid Ali, Mehran Patpour, Yan-Yun Chen, Tine Thach,

Julian R Algaba, Poul Lassen, Jens G Hansen

Session 2: Scandinavian Partnerships that have Advanced the BGRI

Denmark's investment in the Global Rust Reference Center (GRRC)

Outline • Facilities: People, space, equipment and

ressources • GRRC aims and mission

-  Management: surveillance, ’early-warning’, on-line dissemination of results, detection and maintenance of pathogen genetic resources, etc.

-  Training: International researchers and students -  Research: epidemiology, evolutionary biology, genetics

• Conclusions

International collaborators •  Kumarse Nazari, ICARDA •  Amor Yahyaoui, ICARDA •  Ravi Singh, CIMMYT •  Dave Hodson, CIMMYT •  Claude Pope, INRA (F) •  Jonathan Yuen, Uppsala University (S) •  Cristobal Uauy, JIC (UK) •  Rosemary Bayles, NIAB (UK) •  Kerstin Flath, JKI (D) •  James Brown, JIC(UK) •  > 40 people who submitted wheat rust

samples from Asia, Africa and South America

GRRC-team March 2014

Wheat rust quarantine facility

Green house & lab space, GRRC, 2012-13 •  5 quarantine zones

(8-12 cabins/zone) •  2 rust labs •  1 molecular lab

Expanding quarantine facilities November 2013

Expanding quarantine facilities March 2014: Two new zones ready (1st April)

Expanding quarantine facilities March 2014: Additional new rust lab ready

N2 storage of live wheat rust isolates ~ 8,500 samples from recent years and ~ 5,000

samples from the past (”Stubbs collection”)

Applied Research nationalInternational Activities National Strategic Research pHd Education

Type of GRRC activities and funding bodies

Applied Research International Activities Strategic research PhD Education/training

GRRC aims and mission: Global Rust Reference Center (GRRC) established in 2008 on request from CIMMYT, ICARDA and the BGRI

Norman E. Borlaug – Marts 2009 Cd. Obregon, Mexico

GRRC aims and mission: Global Rust Reference Center (GRRC) established in 2008 on request from CIMMYT, ICARDA and the BGRI

Brown & Hovmøller 2002. Science 297, 537-541

GRRC aims and mission: Global Rust Reference Center (GRRC) established in 2008 on request from CIMMYT, ICARDA and the BGRI Management (surveillance, ’early-warning’, genetic stock isolates) •  Getting alive pathogen samples: Quarantine facility which

can recieve live samples of wheat rust from any country year round (in collaboration with national and regional labs)

•  Purify and maintain genetic stocks: Keep pathogen genetic ressources to assist resistance breeding and research

•  Data management: Establish efficient (online) tools •  Training of students and cientists in wheat rust pathology

GRRC aims and mission Global Rust Reference Center (GRRC) established in 2008 on request from CIMMYT, ICARDA and the BGRI Management (surveillance, ’early-warning’, genetic stock isolates) •  Getting the pathogen samples: Quarantine facility which can

recieve live samples of wheat rust isolates from any country year round

•  Purify and maintain genetic stocks: Keep pathogen genetic ressources to assist resistance breeding and research

•  Data management: Establish efficient (online) tools •  Training of scientists in wheat rust pathology

Research •  Understanding pathogen spread and evolution at regional and

global scales, genetics of virulence, host-pathogen interactions at the molecular level, improved tools for assessment of the pathogen (and host) phenotype

The challences for understanding ’global’ spread and dynamics of wheat rust fungi

Improved techniques for assessment of quantitative traits

Chris Sørensen

Jens Grønbech Hansen

Poul Lassen

www.wheatrust.org/

Training wheat rust pathology Training courses and supervision of international

students and researchers

Source: Kerstin Flath, JKI

Wheat stem rust in Europe 2013

...................................................

•  90 samples collected in Germany

•  2 samples collected in Denmark

NA1 NA2 NA3 NA4 NA5 NA6 NA7 NA8 NA9 NA10 (Sr5) (Sr21) (Sr9e) (Sr7b) (Sr11) (Sr6) (Sr8a) (Sr9g) (Sr36) (Sr9b)

NA11 NA12 NA13 NA14 NA15 NA16 NA17 NA18 NA19 NA20 (Sr30) (Sr17) (Sr9a) (Sr9d) (Sr10) (Sr24) (Sr31) (Sr38) (SrTmp) (SrMcN)

TKTTC race

Conclusions •  Global Rust Reference Center is running and expanding –

current emphasis on yellow (stripe) rust and stem rust

•  Significant new investments since start in 2008 (Danish & international funding of research, and Aarhus University investments in facilities)

•  Isolate stock collections expanding

•  Wheat Rust Toolbox provide rapid online dissemination of results => feed into several other “information systems”

•  New methodologies for both host and pathogen phenotyping in progress (quantitative level)

•  The wheat rusts: Sustained efforts needed – recent improvements may quickly become lost

Helsingør (30 km N Copenhagen), Denmark, July 5-8, 2015

International collaborators •  Kumarse Nazari, ICARDA •  Amor Yahyaoui, ICARDA •  Ravi Singh, CIMMYT •  Dave Hodson, CIMMYT •  Claude Pope, INRA (F) •  Jonathan Yuen, Uppsala University (S) •  Cristobal Uauy, JIC (UK) •  Rosemary Bayles, NIAB (UK) •  Kerstin Flath, JKI (D) •  James Brown, JIC(UK) •  > 40 people who submitted samples from

Asia, Africa and South America

GRRC-team March 2014

Photo courtesy: Richard Zeyen

Dr. Bent Skovmand