Project Leader
Michelle Moffitt, Western Sydney University
Status
COMPLETE
Background
Many species of Myrtaceae exhibit varying sensitivity to infection by Austropuccinia psidii, placing many vulnerable Australian ecosystems at risk of decline. More research is needed to identify the defenses that enable some plants to resist A. psidii infection so that we can survey priority species in the field for resistant populations and prioritise germplasm collection. Small molecules called ‘metabolites’ which elicit these defenses in resistant plants can be detected by metabolomics methods. Our preliminary work has established that prior to infection resistant germplasm from the species Melaleuca quinquinervia contain metabolic signatures that differentiate them from hypersensitive and susceptible phenotypes.
Objectives and Impact
Objectives: Employ metabolomics across a diverse selection of Myrtle Rust Action Plan priority species to establish a set of biomarkers that rapidly identify resistant plants without infection trials or previous genomic knowledge.
Methods: We will harvest pre-infected leaf tissue from plants obtained from the Royal Botanical Gardens, Mount Annan, spanning 12 genera of Myrtaceae and employ our established metabolomics pipeline. Concurrently, we will infect these plants with A. psidii and determine the plant response to infection. We will combine these data, to refine and ratify a list of key metabolites identified in project PBSF023 as biomarkers that putatively predict resistance to A. psidii infection. We will then optimise our protocols to capture these biomarkers from wild-collected samples.
- Outputs:
- Improved understanding of the biochemistry responsible for resistance to A. psidii
- Curated set of biomarkers to assess individual plants within selected Myrtaceae species for levels of resistance/tolerance
- Optimised protocols for field collections to enable rapid metabolomic-based field surveys of A. psidii resistance
Outcomes/Impact: Significant contribution toward assessment of resistance in a diverse set of genera for rapid field surveys (Action 3.2.3), to inform breeding strategies (Action 4.3.1), screening for germplasm capture (Action 4.1.1), and contribute to understanding of resistance (Action 4.3.3).
Download the final report here: Final Report