Grant: Alliance Grants

Verticillium stripe (VS), a disease caused by the fungus Verticillium longisporium, poses a serious threat to the canola industry, which is valued at almost $30 billion annually. The disease was initially reported in Canada about 10 years ago, and since then has expanded causing up to 80% in yield reduction. Management of the disease has been hampered by changes in climate patterns; today there is no information on how VS severity is affected by reduced or excess moisture in the soil. In partnership with several commodity groups, i.e. SaskCanola, Manitoba Canola Growers and the Canola Council of Canada, we will conduct experiments to determine how reduced or excess moisture influences V. longisporium pathogenicity in canola plants. The research will initially assess how key agronomic traits are impacted by VS under different water regimes, and subsequently will reveal defensive mechanisms adopted by plants to delay the advance of the pathogen. Specifically, the project will focus on changes in root structure, physiological mechanisms centered around the metabolism of reactive oxygen species, and molecular responses to identify specific genes contributing to plant's resistance. Finally, we will use genetic approaches to reveal how changes in the levels of nitric oxide, a signal molecule mediating plant pathogen interaction alter VS disease severity. By training 4 HQP (1 M.Sc., 1 Ph.D. and 2 summer students), this project will provide valuable insight on how plants respond to V. longisporium under distinct levels of water in the soil, and knowledge that could assist in the development of new germplasm less susceptible to VS. These findings will benefit canola growers, industry, and the entire Canadian agriculture sector.