Outsmarting fungal pathogens by preventing host recognition

Spores of fungal pathogens sense their immediate environment land to determine optimal conditions for germination. When a spore lands on the leaf surface, they detect components of crop leaf waxes and are triggered to germinate and initiate infection. This project will investigate the composition of plant waxes from cereals, oilseeds and pulse crops. A library of wax components will then be generated and screened to identify major components which are the putative triggers which induce pathogen germination and virulence. Project outcomes will identify the key wax components which stimulate or inhibit disease progression in key fungal/crop pathosystems. This information will be utilised for future development of novel strategies to prevent fungal crop diseases, through interference with the process of fungal host recognition, germination and disease development and expression.