Wheat Rust Ug99 Getting Some Attention
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded a grant of $26.8 million to fight an increasingly worrisome threat to the world’s wheat harvest. The Durable Rust Resistance in Wheat project was founded to bring diverse resources to combat an emerging strain of Puccinia graminis (Basidiomycota) commonly called wheat stem rust. This new strain is capable of spreading quickly and has the potential to devastate wheat crops around the world with a potentially disastrous effect on the world’s food supply.
The problem has caught the attention of some major news outlets. Recent articles have appeared in St. Louis Today, The LA Times, and National Post.
Tags: phytopathology, wheat rust
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