The sequencing of the genetic codes of wheat stem rust pathogen (Puccinia graminis) and poplar leaf rust pathogen (Melampsora larici-populina) is expected to help researchers develop control strategies to address worldwide threats to wheat fields and tree plantations. The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, was a six-year collaborative effort of USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS), the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, the National Science Foundation, the Broad Institute of Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Minnesota and the French National Institute for Agricultural Research.
Read more on the Wisconsin Ag Connection