Purpose

Phytophthora (P. sojae) seedling and root rot causes $400 million in soybean losses annually. Traditional chemical applications of metalaxyl to seeds before planting are expensive and variable in results.

Breeders have depended for many years on single gene resistance that is effective against a subset of the more than 35 races of this pathogen. Problem is that P. sojae diversity typically increases in a field over years. Therefore, protection from disease by a resistance gene diminishes. The effectiveness of a gene is estimated at only five to seven years. This increases the cost of screening and selection.

There is an obvious need for alternative forms of soybean resistance, particularly those that are effective against multiple P. sojae races.

We have arrived at an era in which new formats of soybean disease resistance can be designed. These possibilities follow from recent advancements in combinatorial biochemistry, plant transformation technology, and molecular biology.

Combinatorial biochemistry enables screening of diverse phage display libraries for peptides that bind to infective structures of P. sojae and disrupt their development before or during plant infection, regardless of race.

Tools of molecular biology and plant transformation enable construction of delivery systems to deliver disruptive peptides.

This project proposes to integrate these tools to create: 1, value-added soybean with novel disease resistance capabilities, and; 2, marketable, high-valued technologies for identifying and delivering defense peptides and other beneficial molecules in soybean, maize, or other crops.

This project has received one year of funding from IMBA to pursue these goals. This second year will enable researchers to further develop and evaluate these technologies and reach the goal of value-added soybeans with novel resistance characteristics.

Impact

The impact would be to lessen the multi-million dollar losses caused by P. sojae.