Farms.com Home  › News

A New Genomic Tool For Wheat Rust Researchers Worldwide

A new genomic tool has been launched to help the global community of wheat rust researchers.

Flowchart
 

Flowchart illustrating the construction of the rust expression browser.

The Rust Expression Browser – developed by John Innes Centre researchers—is the first gene expression browser to enable simultaneous interrogation of gene expression data for the notorious yellow rust pathogen and its wheat host.

This new web interface currently hosts 1,024 gene expression datasets in an easy 'point-and-click' format to improve access to these valuable but complex data resources. In particular, it hosts hundreds of datasets generated by use of the revolutionary, genomic based 'field pathogenomics' technique that was developed in the Saunders Lab.

The yellow rust fungus causes devastating losses to wheat production worldwide and is a serious constraint on UK wheat production.

In a new paper published in BMC Genomics, researchers describe the creation of this new tool and demonstrate its utility for accelerating wheat yellow rust research.

Dr. Thomas Adams, the first author said: "We are thrilled to be able to share the wealth of data collected over the years by the lab with the wider community. We hope this will make these datasets more accessible to all researchers, regardless of access to specialist computer systems or any experience with sequencing data."

Click here to see more...

Trending Video

Dr. Fei Yang Discusses Corn Rootworm, European Corn Borer, and Pest Monitoring

Video: Dr. Fei Yang Discusses Corn Rootworm, European Corn Borer, and Pest Monitoring

What insect threats are Minnesota corn growers facing, and what research is helping farmers stay ahead of them?

At the 2026 MN Ag Expo, University of Minnesota entomologist Fei Yang shared updates on three Minnesota Corn-supported research projects focused on insect monitoring, seed treatments, and pest resistance.

Current work includes statewide monitoring programs that use pheromone, light, and sticky traps to track key pests such as black cutworm, true armyworm, corn earworm, European corn borer, and corn rootworm. Researchers are also evaluating whether high-rate seed treatments provide effective corn rootworm control and studying the development of resistance in European corn borer populations to Bt corn traits.

These projects help researchers better understand pest pressures across Minnesota and provide farmers with practical information to support informed management decisions.