By Scout Nelson
Wheat diseases continue to create major challenges for farmers across the United States. Plant diseases and pests destroy an average of 20% of wheat crops each year, resulting in nearly $700 million in lost income for U.S. wheat farmers. When fungicide costs are included, the total economic impact grows to more than $1 billion annually. Because disease-causing pathogens continue to evolve, researchers work to develop stronger wheat varieties that can naturally resist these threats.
Dr. Gazala Ameen, assistant professor in the Department of Agronomy, Horticulture and Plant Science at South Dakota State University, continued advancing research that improves wheat disease resistance. She earned both her master's degree and Ph.D. from North Dakota State University and joined SDSU in 2021. Her work combines plant pathology with molecular biology to better understand how wheat plants defend themselves against disease while helping breeders develop stronger crop varieties.
“It’s a constant struggle to stay ahead of wheat diseases — this is the main reason that the South Dakota Wheat Commission has chosen to fund Dr. Gazala Ameen’s work,” said Jon Kleinjan, South Dakota Wheat Commission executive director. “She has done an excellent job monitoring disease pressure in South Dakota and screening breeding lines and varieties for disease resistance. We are excited to see if Dr. Ameen can identify innovative ways to help fight diseases that are impacting South Dakota wheat growers.”
After arriving at SDSU, Ameen worked with growers to survey wheat diseases across South Dakota. The survey highlighted an important research gap involving bacterial leaf streak, one of the state's common wheat diseases. Her research focuses on immunity receptors, special proteins inside plant cells that recognize pathogens, and help protect plants from infection.
During the last five years, Ameen and her international research partners have evaluated more than 2,000 winter, spring, and durum wheat lines. Their work has identified valuable sources of resistance against bacterial leaf streaks, spot blotch, and other important wheat diseases affecting South Dakota. Researchers have already located several resistant regions within the wheat genome and are now validating the specific genes responsible for protecting the plants.
“We identified regions that are providing resistance. However, those regions are still large, so we do not know exactly which gene is providing the resistance,” Ameen said. “We are currently using validation tools to prove the functional role of the identified genes. Ultimately, we are hoping that these discoveries allow us to fine-tune disease-resistant genes for durability and broad-spectrum resistance.”
The identified immunity genes are shared with wheat breeders and scientists around the world so they can develop improved wheat varieties suited to local disease challenges. Ameen's work has also earned national and international recognition. Earlier this year, she organized the fifth annual International Bacterial Leaf Streak Research Conference at SDSU and received a competitive U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture grant to continue bacterial leaf streak research.
“The best part of my research is that I am able to contribute to the global food security mission, and I can have a broader impact,” Ameen said.
Photo Credit: gettyimages-ianchrisgraham
Categories: South Dakota, Crops, Wheat