Welcome
Our group results from cooperation between the Two Blades Foundation and the Sainsbury Laboratory, and aims to solve crop disease problems using state-of-the-art technologies. The group’s current focus is on identifying major disease resistance (R) genes from wild species related to important crops. Our strategy is to isolate many R genes, which is now possible using a combination of classical genetics and next-generation sequencing methods, and deploy them in combinations at single transgenic loci. Such multiple R gene cassettes should provide a superior solution for breeding durable disease resistance. The initial focus of the group is on generating resistance to wheat stem rust caused by newly appearing super-virulent strains of the pathogen Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici.
