Breakthrough Offers Hope for Protecting “cancer” of Cruciferous Crops
WUHAN, Sept.4 (Xinhua) – Chinese scientists have made a importent discovery in the fight against clubroot disease,a devastating ailment affecting crucial crops like rapeseed,cabbage,and broccoli. A new study identifies a key gene, GSL5, that makes these crops vulnerable to the disease, paving the way for more durable and effective resistance.
Published in Nature Genetics this week, the research, conducted by a team at the Oil Crops Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, sheds light on how plants defend against invasive eukaryotic protozoon pathogens – microscopic organisms that cause clubroot.
Clubroot, caused by the protozoon Plasmodiophora brassicae, is a rapidly spreading disease impacting cruciferous crops worldwide. It currently causes annual yield losses of 10-15% globally and affects over 1.3 million hectares of farmland in China alone. Customary breeding methods have proven challenging due to lengthy timelines and the quick loss of resistance.
After nearly a decade of research, the team, led by chief scientist Liu Lijiang, discovered that P. brassicae can ”hijack” the GSL5 gene, suppressing the plant’s immune system and allowing the pathogen to thrive.
By using genome editing to disable GSL5 in cruciferous plants, researchers achieved broad-spectrum, high-level resistance to all tested strains of P. brassicae without negatively impacting plant growth or yield in field trials.
This breakthrough offers a promising, efficient strategy for controlling clubroot disease and will accelerate the advancement of high-resistance varieties of crucial crops, ensuring a more secure food supply.