Researchers Develop Rust Resistant Wheat with Increased Heat Tolerance

Researchers from Northwest A&F University, Hainan University, and partners have successfully developed rust resistant wheat through a combination of genetic modification and gene editing. The results of the study also show significant insights into the development of wheat cultivars resistant to high temperatures from the pollination stage to maturity.

Wheat, one of the major staple foods worldwide, faces numerous challenges affecting its productivity. Stripe rust is one of the major diseases in wheat that hampers the development of the crop. Conventional methods and advanced innovative techniques have been used to mitigate the effects of the disease. In this study, the researchers used Agrobacterium-mediated transformation and gene editing to identify the gene responsible for stripe rust control.

The study showed that the transgenic wheat plants exhibited only minor spotting, demonstrating a significant stress tolerance. Under stress conditions, these plants also showed resistance to stripe rust, producing large, bold grains compared to the control group. The researchers also knocked out the DREB2C gene to determine if this is attributed to stripe rust control. They concluded that pyramiding the DREB2C gene with HSFA2 through dual expression could be a highly effective strategy to control the widespread stripe rust in wheat.

For more information, read the article from Plant Stress.