Investigating the impact of climate change on sexual reproduction in the wheat rust fungi (SAUNDERS_J26DTP)

Wheat rusts are known as the “polio of agriculture” due to the threat they pose to wheat production worldwide. The wheat stem and yellow rust pathogens, Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici (Pgt) and Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst), are both heteroecious and undertake asexual reproduction on wheat and sexual reproduction on Berberis spp., with the latter leading to emergence of abundant novel genotypes. Unlike Pgt, Pst has not been observed to infect B. vulgaris in Europe, likely due to a current mismatch in timing between spore germination and availability of deciduous B. vulgaris leaves. However, as climate change progresses, this timing mismatch could resolve, altering the role of B. vulgaris in the wheat rust infection cycle.

The aim of this project is to: (i) evaluate mechanisms potentially currently limiting Pst B. vulgaris infection and, thus, sexual reproduction in the UK and (ii) use spatially explicit models to predict how (and when) Pgt and/or Pst sexual reproduction could impact wheat disease epidemics under current and projected conditions, shaping future wheat rust epidemics. This project provides a unique opportunity to generate valuable fundamental knowledge with potential for immediate practical application in agriculture in disease risk management.

The student will be embedded in the Saunders Lab at the John Innes Centre, which is a multidisciplinary research lab, providing the opportunity to develop extensive skills in a breadth of areas, including plant pathology, molecular biology, and computational biology. Whilst receiving additional training in modelling pathogen disease risk dynamics in response to climate change by leaders in this field at Exeter University.