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Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and CIMMYT team up to confront climate change and new subspecies of wheat stem rust

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Beijing, China and El Batán, Mexico
December 4, 2007

On 04 December 2007, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) will sign a memo of understanding for a three-year, joint breeding initiative worth US$ 1 million per year to develop new wheat varieties that tolerate heat and drought, helping farmers face climate change, and that resist major diseases of the crop.

“Of particular concern is the new, virulent strain of stem rust, Ug99, which appeared in eastern Africa eight years ago but has since moved on prevailing winds to the Middle East and could soon threaten the vast wheat lands of Asia,” says Iwanaga. “Both parties see an urgent need to screen thousands of wheat lines to identify ones that resist the new rust race.”

Chinese Agricultural Science Academies take regional award for work with global research center from Mexico to breed high-yield, quality wheats

CAAS and CIMMYT to strengthen ties in a US$ 3 million agreement on 04 December 2007

In a ceremony in the Great Hall of the People, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science (CAAS) and the Shandong Academy of Agricultural Science received today the 2007 Award for Outstanding Agricultural Technology in the Asia-Pacific Region, for their work with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) to develop high-yielding wheat varieties with high-quality grain for Chinese food products.

Three wheat cultivars from this work were sown on more than 8 million hectares in China during 2002-2006, adding 2.4 million tons of grain to Chinese wheat production, equivalent to US$ 411 million. Farmers who grew the varieties also received an estimated US$ 101 million in quality-based premiums for their grain, and an additional US$ 8 million was generated through marketing seed of the varieties.

The award was given by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)—a partnership of countries, international and regional organizations and private foundations supporting the work of 15 international research centers—as part of its annual general meeting, held in Beijing this year. It recognizes a scientist or research team in the Asia-Pacific who has developed an outstanding technology or research product that contributes to increased productivity or quality in agriculture, improved food quality, and / or improved management of natural resources in the region.

“China is the world’s largest wheat producer, harvesting more than 100 million tons annually, and the crop accounts for 22% of the country’s food production,” says Masa Iwanaga, director general of CIMMYT, a global research and training organization based in Mexico. “Our joint efforts in yield and grain quality have helped both farmers and consumers, and that’s why the two academies received this award.”

China and CIMMYT partnerships goes back three decades. More than 200 Chinese scientists have taken part in training and joint research with CIMMYT. Around 4 million hectares in China are sown to varieties that carry CIMMYT wheat in their pedigrees, and Chinese breeding stocks and partnerships have improved the disease resistance of CIMMYT-derived varieties grown round the world.

“These and other joint efforts have helped improve the lives of millions of people in China and across the globe, reducing poverty, increasing food security, and protecting the environment,” says Zhonghu He, CAAS wheat scientist who serves as CIMMYT liaison officer in China.

 
China and Mexico team up to fight wheat disease - The research will develop drought-resistant wheat
by Arturo Barba, SciDev.Net

Two agricultural research organisations have agreed to collaborate on research to combat wheat diseases and develop climate change-resistant wheat varieties.

The agreement, between the Mexico-based International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, was signed last week (4 December).

Jointly funded by the two centres, the US$3 million, three-year project comprises a shared breeding initiative to create new wheat varieties that tolerate heat and drought — helping farmers face climate change — and resist major wheat diseases.

Research will be carried out at both centres, as well as other sites around the world.

The project will involve screening several thousand wheat samples, provided by both centres, for useful traits — particularly against a new strain of stem wheat rust, Ug99. Stem rust is caused by a parasitic fungus and devastates crops.

Traditional plant breeding techniques will be used to create suitable varieties. Molecular markers — specific DNA segments containing genes associated with desired characteristics — will be used to trace characteristics through generations.

"Of particular concern is the new, virulent strain of stem rust, Ug99, which appeared in eastern Africa eight years ago but has since moved on to the Middle East and could soon threaten the vast wheat lands of Asia," said Masa Iwanaga, director-general of CIMMYT, in a press release.

"Both parties see an urgent need to screen thousands of wheat lines to identify ones that resist the new rust race."

Researchers hope to have a wheat variety resistant to Ug99 by the end of the project, according to Mike Listman, from the communications department at CIMMYT.

"The project is the continuation of collaboration activities that already exist between both institutions," he told SciDev.Net.

Partnerships between China and CIMMYT go back three decades. More than 200 Chinese scientists have taken part in training and joint research with CIMMYT.

Around four million hectares in China are sown with wheat varieties derived from CIMMYT plants, and Chinese breeding stocks and partnerships have improved the disease resistance of CIMMYT-derived varieties grown around the world.

Other news from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences


RELATED RELEASES

China and Mexico team up to fight wheat disease - The research will develop drought-resistant wheat

Arturo Barba, SciDev.Net

Two agricultural research organisations have agreed to collaborate on research to combat wheat diseases and develop climate change-resistant wheat varieties.

The agreement, between the Mexico-based International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, was signed last week (4 December).

Jointly funded by the two centres, the US$3 million, three-year project comprises a shared breeding initiative to create new wheat varieties that tolerate heat and drought — helping farmers face climate change — and resist major wheat diseases.

Research will be carried out at both centres, as well as other sites around the world.

The project will involve screening several thousand wheat samples, provided by both centres, for useful traits — particularly against a new strain of stem wheat rust, Ug99. Stem rust is caused by a parasitic fungus and devastates crops.

Traditional plant breeding techniques will be used to create suitable varieties. Molecular markers — specific DNA segments containing genes associated with desired characteristics — will be used to trace characteristics through generations.

"Of particular concern is the new, virulent strain of stem rust, Ug99, which appeared in eastern Africa eight years ago but has since moved on to the Middle East and could soon threaten the vast wheat lands of Asia," said Masa Iwanaga, director-general of CIMMYT, in a press release.

"Both parties see an urgent need to screen thousands of wheat lines to identify ones that resist the new rust race."

Researchers hope to have a wheat variety resistant to Ug99 by the end of the project, according to Mike Listman, from the communications department at CIMMYT.

"The project is the continuation of collaboration activities that already exist between both institutions," he told SciDev.Net.

Partnerships between China and CIMMYT go back three decades. More than 200 Chinese scientists have taken part in training and joint research with CIMMYT.

Around four million hectares in China are sown with wheat varieties derived from CIMMYT plants, and Chinese breeding stocks and partnerships have improved the disease resistance of CIMMYT-derived varieties grown around the world.


A ProMED-mail post
ProMED-mail is a program of the International Society for Infectious Diseases

A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases <http://www.isid.org>

Date: December 4, 2007
Source: China View [edited]
<http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-12/04/content_7199323.htm>

China teams up with international wheat body to fight African disease

The Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences [CAAS] signed an agreement on Tuesday [4 Dec 2007] to cooperate on research with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) to fight against a new subspecies of wheat stem rust. The 3 million U.S. dollars project involves testing several thousand wheat samples provided by both sides. There will be screening for disease-resistant [wheat] strains from Africa where the new subspecies of the major cereal disease originated.

It is believed the new wheat stem rust subspecies, which is dubbed "Ug99" and has already spread to the Middle East, would most likely encroach into major Asian wheat production areas.

Shi Yanquan, deputy head of the science and education department at the Agriculture Ministry, said at the signing ceremony that it would take 3 years to complete the project. He added China had cooperated with CIMMYT for more than 3 decades.

Wheat stem rust occurs worldwide wherever wheat is grown. The disease often causes severe loss of crops, usually between 50 to 70 percent, over a large area. In many cases, individual fields can be totally destroyed. Damage is greatest when the disease becomes severe before the grain is completely formed.

[Byline: Gao Ying]

--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>

[Wheat stem rust is caused by the fungus _Puccinia graminis_ f. sp. _tritici_. It occurs worldwide throughout wheat producing areas. Symptoms are dark orange pustules on the stems and also on the leaves. Stems can be completely girdled by the pustules damaging the conducting tissue and preventing grain fill. Yield losses of up to 70 percent are reported, but some fields are totally destroyed. If stem rust arrives early in the growing cycle, losses are higher. The fungus is spread by wind and with infected straw.

New pathogen races are emerging with increased virulence against genes previously used for resistance breeding. Considered most dangerous at present is strain Ug99 which was first reported in Uganda in 1999. Recurring epidemics in Kenya and then Ethiopia followed and it has recently spread to Yemen. It may also be present in Pakistan, Sudan, and Tanzania and appears to be moving on prevailing winds.

Ug99 can infect and cause disease in many commonly grown stem rust "resistant" wheat lines. In much of the world, resistance to stem rust in wheat is based at least in part on the gene Sr31. High levels of stem rust infection were observed on wheat lines in a nursery at Kalengyere Research Station in Uganda. Because several of the diseased lines contained the Sr31, Lr26, and Yr9 genes for rust resistance, a new strain with virulence to Sr31 was suspected.

Ug99 is considered a significant threat to global wheat production.

To combat Ug99 worldwide, countries need to increase vigilance, establish efficient monitoring and surveillance systems, use certified seed, develop resistant varieties suitable for their region, and develop contingency plans in case of an outbreak. The international Global Rust Initiative was set up which is lead by CIMMYT and the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) and was also joined by FAO (United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation). CIMMYT has a long established partnership with Chinese cereal geneticists, and if new wheat lines with resistance to Ug99 can be developed these will be of significant benefit to wheat growers worldwide. A focus on resistance screening of African germplasm is suggested because this is the region of origin of Ug99, and host resistance is most likely to be found co-evolving with an emerging new pathogen strain.

CIMMYT (Mexico City) and ICARDA (Aleppo, Syria) belong to the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), a partnership of countries, international and regional organisations and private foundations supporting the work of 15 international research centers.

Pictures of stem rust on wheat:
<http://scarab.msu.montana.edu/Disease/DiseaseGuidewebpics/Petewebpics41-50/Img0042.jpg>, 

<http://www.cimmyt.org/english/wps/news/2005/sept/images/stem2.jpg>  and <http://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/crops/diseases/images/fac15s01.jpg>

Links
CIMMYT news release:
<http://www.cimmyt.org/english/wps/news/2007/nrelease/caas.htm>
Information on wheat stem rust:
<http://www.ars.usda.gov/Main/docs.htm?docid=9910>
Information on Ug99:
<http://www.agbioworld.org/newsletter_wm/index.php?caseid=archive&newsid=2686>, 

<http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/315/5820/1786>
(subscription required) and
<http://www.pestalert.org/viewNewsAlert.cfm?naid=36>
Ug99 distribution and potential global impact:
<http://www.cimmyt.cgiar.org/gis/pdf/UG99postH.pdf>
Ug99 and stem rust resistance genes used in wheat breeding:
<http://www.ars.usda.gov/Main/docs.htm?docid=14649>
_P. graminis_ f.sp. _tritici_ taxonomy:
<http://www.indexfungorum.org/Names/NamesRecord.asp?RecordID=455607>
Global Rust Initiative:
<http://www.globalrust.org/>
CGIAR research centres:
<http://www.cgiar.org/centers/index.html>
- Mod.DHA]

[see also in the archive:
Barley yellow dwarf virus & stem rust, cereals - Kenya 20070705.2132 Wheat stem rust, strain Ug99 - Yemen (02): government response 20070430.1399 Wheat stem rust, spread: FAO, Global Rust Initiative 20070414.1241 Wheat stem rust, strain Ug99 - Yemen: 1st report 20070117.0229]
2006
----
Wheat stem rust, strain Ug99 - Pakistan: susp., 1st report 20060514.1366 Stem rust, wheat - multicountry: new strains 20060406.1039
2005
----
Wheat stem rust, Ug99, new strain - East Africa 20050928.2849 Wheat stem rust, new strain - Uganda 20050912.2698
2002
----
Wheat stem rust fungus, new virulence genes - So Afr 20020814.5049 2000
----
Wheat stem rust in resistant wheat lines - Uganda 20000702.1092]

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