Objective
Yellow rust (YR) disease is a major threat to cereal crops and grasses worldwide, causing significant losses to the global wheat harvest each year. The long-term aim of this research is to develop new varieties of wheat with enhanced resistance to YR. To do this, it is essential to understand host specificity - the ability of the pathogen to specialize on particular grass hosts, coupled with the ability of the host to resist infection by different strains of YR.
I recently pioneered a field-based 'pathogenomics' approach to enable a comprehensive evaluation of the genetic diversity of YR. This new method provides unparalleled resolution of the pathogen population that can identify gene families associated with the ability to cause disease on all the major hosts of YR in Europe, namely wheat barley, rye, triticale and cocksfoot grass. Using this approach, I previously uncovered a genetically distinct population of YR on triticale and showed that these isolates contained gene clusters that were specifically expressed in all isolates identified on triticale and had no or negligible levels of expression in all wheat YR isolates.
In this ERC project, I will use the pathogenomics approach to collect an extensive dataset of YR on all its major hosts, aiming to characterise genomic regions and the genes they encode to understand the underlying regulatory mechanisms that drive host specialization and adaptation. I will then assess changes at the transcriptomic level in closely related host-specialized YR races to provide insights into how pathogens adapt to new hosts. In parallel, I will identify host targets of effectors from YR to resolve the underlying molecular processes that are targeted by the pathogen to enable successful host-specific colonization. I will then disrupt the function of these host targets using precision genome editing to determine their contribution to YR pathogenicity and reveal novel susceptibility genes that are essential for pathogen progression.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- medical and health sciences medical biotechnology genetic engineering gene therapy
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics genomes
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries agriculture grains and oilseeds cereals
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
ERC-STG - Starting Grant
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2016-STG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
NR4 7UH NORWICH
United Kingdom
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.