Australian data resources for wheat and Zymoseptoria tritici (Septoria tritici blotch)

Advancing genetic solutions for crop protection in Australian wheat: identifying novel and optimal combinations of APR resistance genes to Septoria tritici blotch. Wheat is one of the most important crops in Australia, providing food, feed and export income. However, wheat production is threatened by various diseases, such as Septoria tritici blotch (STB), a foliar disease of wheat caused by the fungus Zymoseptoria tritici. This disease is prevalent in medium-high rainfall zones of Australia. If left unmanaged, STB can result in yield losses of up to 50% and traditional control by fungicides is estimated to cost the industry $121 million per year is less effective due to fungicide resistance evolving in Australia to some common triazoles and strobilurin. One way to manage this disease is to use wheat varieties resistant to STB. However, 10 out of 17 genes tested for adult plant resistance (APR) performance in field experiments over the past 8 years are no longer effective in Australia. These include; Stb2/11/WW, Stb3, Stb4, Stb6, Stb7/12, Stb9 and Stb18. Therefore, identifying new sources of APR genes is essential for developing wheat varieties with better agronomic performance. Adult plant resistance (APR) genes confer partial but durable resistance to the disease at later stages of plant development. They are preferred in breeding programs because of their flexibility in integrated disease management (IDM) systems and their durability of resistance. These projects aim to discover and transfer novel APR genes for STB resistance into adapted wheat varieties while also determining the optimal combinations of existing effective APR genes and remove the barriers to their adoption by Australian wheat breeding programs. The resources available on this site are developed through research partnerships between GRDC and NSW DPI. There are resources provided on this page which are available to download as well as metadata for resources which have restricted access and will be made available only on request.