Characterization of the New Strains of the Pathogen in Alberta

Priorities
Agronomy Research  Diseases 
Start Date
2015
End Date
2018
Principal Investigator
Sheau-Fang Hwang - Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development (AARD), Stephen Strelkov - University of Alberta
Co-Investigators
MCGA Funding
$37,500
Total Project Funding
$225,000
External Funding Partners
Alberta Canola, Manitoba Canola Growers, SaskCanola, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Report

Research Objective

  • Monitor the spread of new clubroot strains through surveys
  • Understand the potential of pathotypes (strains of clubroot) that can overcome resistant varieties
  • Identify the pathotypes of P. brassicae present where resistance had broken down
  • Search for molecular markers (to be able to classify) new clubroot pathotypes

Project Description

Canola clubroot, caused by Plasmodiophora brassicae, affects many canola fields and the main way to manage this disease in Canada currently is through planting varieties of canola that are resistant to the disease. Currently, there are new types of the canola clubroot disease that can overcome the resistant canola varieties that are on the market. To be able to have new varieties of canola that are resistant to these new strains of clubroot, the new strains of clubroot need to be categorized based on their pathotype. This project was able to identify new strains of clubroot, so that if other strains emerge, they can be even more quickly identified and therefore canola varieties can be created to combat them. The identification system that this project created is called the Canadian Clubroot Differential (CCD) Set. It is an improvement over previous systems because it has a greater differentiating capacity than others and has detected pathotypes that would have before gone unnoticed. It will be an important new tool for agronomists, breeders, and researchers to use. The system was created after many samples of clubroot were collected from fields in ‘clubroot hotspots’ in Canada where resistant varieties are grown. These spots were chosen because the clubroot in these areas is overcoming the resistant varieties, and therefore is most likely a strain not seen before. Then the clubroot collected was tested against several resistant varieties to see if they would be resistant to it and also the genetics of the clubroot was determined to see if there were noticeable patterns. Using these steps, the CCD Set system was created and will be used in upcoming identification of clubroot!

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