DEMONSTRATOR GRANT for Matthieu Joosten, WUR

The chairgroup plant phytopathology at WUR has been granted funding by  NWO for the Demonstrator project “Demonstrating Fast Identification of Resistance Genes for Breeding Pathogen-Resistant Plants” Plant diseases caused by pathogenic micro-organisms result in huge economic losses and food  shortage. Plants have a natural defence system against diseases, which is triggered by receptors that are encoded by resistance (R) genes. These receptors recognize so-called effector proteins that are produced by pathogens, such as viruses, bacteria, fungi and oomycetes, after which these receptors activate an immune response. Resistance genes protect our crops against detrimental pathogens and plant breeders are continuously searching for novel Resistance genes, as they are regularly broken by virulent strains of the pathogens. When using regular breeding techniques, identifying Resistance genes is very time-consuming and for certain crops very difficult. The goal of this project is to deliver a novel and fast technique for Resistance gene identification, overcoming current time- and technology constraints in breeding. The approach that we have developed will be validated in a controlled setting in resistant wild tomato, to showcase the possibilities of this revolutionary technology to the breeding industry.