Investment

Foliar diseases have a significant impact on Australian barley production, with the most damaging pathogen being Net Blotch. Net blotch is caused by the necrotrophic fungus Pyrenophora teres, with two different forms recognised: Net Form of Net Blotch (NFNB) and Spot Form of Net Blotch (SFNB). The most effective long-term means of minimising losses to Net Blotch is through introducing collections (pyramids) of novel resistance genes into Australian barley varieties.

To discover and evaluate these needed new Net Blotch resistance sources, researchers must have the ability to dig deeper into the genetic diversity stored in germplasm collections worldwide, using phenotyping tools sensitive enough to discover QTLs with even minimal effects and at low allele frequency. Such precise high-throughput phenotyping capabilities will enable a quantum leap forward in the power of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and the subsequent detection of novel Net Blotch resistant loci; especially the more desirable APR-type (durable) resistant genes.

Program 3 of the Barley Net Blotch Consortium will establish the BluVision micro-phenotyping platform developed by IPK (Germany) into Australia and use it to investigate barley net blotch resistance sources at previously unprecedented granularity (e.g. at the cellular microscopic level). The precision and high-throughput capabilities of the BluVision platform will provide a deeper understanding of the mode-of-action of resistance sources being identified within the GRDC funded Barley Net Blotch Consortium, help characterise additional NFNB and SFNB resistant genes, and aid in determining the optimal combination of resistant genes for delivery of durable resistance to both NFNB and SFNB.