Rothamsted Research in Hertfordshire and Brazilian government research body Embrapa have forged a scientific partnership in sustainable agriculture research.

UK government chief scientific adviser Professor John Beddington said: “The global challenges facing agriculture require a global response. Increasing sustainable crop production with reduced inputs to meet increasing world food demands while addressing the impacts of climate change and demand for bio-energy needs international co-operation and a shared research agenda… this new initiative to strengthen scientific relationships with Brazil will make an important contribution to meeting those challenges.”

Embrapa and Rothamsted scientists will work together on plant disease. Specifically, the initial research will focus on the fungus that causes Septoria leaf blotch.

Professor John Lucas of Rothamsted Research said: “All arable and horticultural crops are prone to damage and loss caused by microbial pathogens.

"Our current approaches for managing these diseases are reliant largely on fungicides and genetic resistance in the crops themselves... What we are trying to do now, using molecular and genomic approaches, is to understand how exactly the pathogens cause disease, how they suppress or evade host defence, and by doing so identify new targets to intervene in the disease process…

This approach is not limited to one crop or pathogen. In fact, if we study different crops and pathogens, we shall be in a better position to identify the common features, and also the differences, between different diseases.

"This is comparative genomics applied to the biology of disease. So what we find in wheat, or citrus, might actually be applicable to a vegetable crop. The more pathogens and crops we compare, the more powerful this approach is likely to become.”

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