A naturally occurring fungus found inside wheat seeds could help protect one of the world’s most important food crops from a damaging disease, researchers have found.
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researchers → occur → disease
The fungus, known as Chaetomium globosum, was shown to significantly suppress a disease known as STB, which can cut wheat yields in half during severe outbreaks.
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which → know → outbreaks
The study is the first time the fungus has been identified in wheat seeds – though it has previously been found in cotton, hemp, apples and tobacco.
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it → identify → cotton
STB, which stands for Septoria tritici blotch, is one of the most destructive wheat diseases worldwide.
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which → stand → diseases
Dr Amir Mirzadi Gohari, from the University of Tehran, made the initial discovery.
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Gohari → make → discovery
“STB is a huge problem and a real threat to global food security,” he said.
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he → say → security
“But it is becoming incredibly resistant to these treatments, and there are growing concerns about the environmental and financial costs of spraying wheat crops.
“Finding a naturally occurring fungus that fights this pathogen could be a huge step forward; it’s a very exciting discovery.”
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it → become → pathogen
Dr Mirzadi Gohari’s team screened 45 fungal endophytes, which are fungi that live inside plants without harming them, in a similar way to friendly gut bacteria in humans, searching for one that could hold STB at bay.
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that → screen → bay
The winner came from an unexpected source: the seeds of a wheat variety that is highly susceptible to the disease.
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that → come → disease
The scientist said: “We treated different varieties of wheat with our new fungus three days before exposing them to STB.
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We → say → STB
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“The results were incredible.
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results → read → ?
“Even in the worst-hit variety, lesions covered 74% less of the leaf area, and the structures that produce the disease-spreading spores were reduced by 82%.
“
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that → hit → %
We tested wheat varieties that are susceptible to STB, and across all of these, disease severity fell by more than half.”
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severity → test → half
STB is caused by a fungus called Zymoseptoria tritici, which is difficult to control because of its resistance to many fungicides.
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which → cause → fungicides
Dr Angela Feechan, from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, is working with Dr Mirzadi Gohari on the research.
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Feechan → work → research
She explained that Chaetomium globosum appears to fight STB in three main ways.
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globosum → explain → ways
“As a fungus, it puts the plant’s defences on alert and its immune system kicks in, similar to how vaccines work in humans,” she said.
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she → put → humans
“We also found that it secretes antifungal compounds that attack rival fungi, like Zymoseptoria tritici, which causes STB.”
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which → find → STB
She explained that part of the research involved growing the fungus in liquid and spraying it onto STB-infected wheat.
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part → explain → wheat
“It inhibited germination of the spores by more than 80%, and spraying it onto plants in the greenhouse test also reduced the disease,” she said.
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she → inhibit → disease
“It may also promote plant growth.
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It → promote → growth
It produces ammonia and the plant hormone auxin, along with mechanisms that help plants take up iron.”
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plants → produce → iron
She said further investigation is necessary, but that it appears the fungus has “real benefits for wheat plants, and potentially other crops”.
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fungus → say → plants
The team is now trying to pinpoint exactly which antifungal compound the fungus produces, and they have sequenced the fungus’s genome to search for the genes responsible.
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they → try → genes
Dr Feechan said longer-term research and field trials will help determine whether farmers could use Chaetomium globosum to tackle STB in wheat crops.
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farmers → say → crops
She said: “We could potentially coat seeds with the fungus before they are planted, which would mirror how wheat would encounter fungus naturally in the soil, or a spray-on treatment could be developed.”
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treatment → say → soil
The study was a collaboration between the University of Tehran, Heriot-Watt University and University College Dublin, led by the University of Tehran and funded by the Iran National Science Foundation.
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study → lead → Foundation
The findings are published in the journal Scientific Reports.
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findings → publish → journal
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