Researchers from the John Innes Centre in the United Kingdom, in collaboration with scientists from Kobe University in Japan, have developed an experimental method to enhance plants' ability to resist a pathogenic fungus threatening rice, wheat, and barley crops, a step that may help reduce agricultural crop losses and support food security.
The Science Daily website, specializing in scientific news, reported on Thursday, citing a study published in the journal Science Advances, that researchers succeeded in modifying plant immune proteins to enable them to recognize two different types of molecules used by the fungus to infect plants, opening the door to developing more effective plant defense mechanisms against fungal diseases.
The research targets the fungus Magnaporthe oryzae, which causes rice blast disease, responsible for significant crop losses, and can also infect wheat and barley. The fungus attacks plants by secreting specialized molecules known as "effectors," which interfere with plant cell functions and help it cause infection and spread.
Researchers relied on modifying plant immune proteins known as "TKPs," after studying the mechanism of their binding to molecules secreted by the fungus. Initial experiments conducted on individual wheat cells showed the possibility of modifying these proteins to enable them to recognize more than one target, although the technique still requires testing on whole plants to verify its effectiveness under actual agricultural conditions.
The research clarified that combining different plant immune receptors could help provide broader protection for crops and limit the ability of fungi to bypass plant defense mechanisms, while translating these results into agricultural applications requires further studies and experiments.
These researches gain importance amid the challenges facing agricultural production due to the spread of plant diseases and climate changes that may contribute to their emergence in new areas.
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA)
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