SCRI Virologists link with China

PP scientists Lesley Torrance, Michael Taliansky and Stuart MacFarlane visited Zhejing Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzoum CHina on 21-23 September to take part in a seminar day and exchange ideas as part of ongoing plans to establish a closer scientific collaboration.  Plans are being made to establish an International Joint Lab for Sustainable Pest and Disease Control between the two institutes.

New DEFRA grant on the development of diagnostic tools and vaccines to control sheep scab

Sheep scab seriously affects the welfare of sheep and is a widespread problem in the UK. A new grant has been awarded by Moredun Research Institute to develop novel strategies to control sheep scab using immunological approaches and the development of diagnostic tools. The use of plants as bioreactors for expressing proteins and extracting them in an active form opens up new opportunities for the production of pharmaceutical proteins. Substantial evidence, including SCRI work on the EU-funded PLAPROVA project was accumulated that production of plant-derived vaccines is feasible and safe. Therefore the SCRI team led by Michael Taliansky has joined MRI as a sub-contractor to ensure the sufficient generation of recombinant proteins which will be produced in plants, for both diagnostic and vaccine purposes.

Strengthening Potato Production

SCRI will address the key issues identified within a Scottish Government supported survey, which explored the constraints on the potato crop within the Malawian agricultural system.  The project aims to contribute to poverty reduction and food security through strengthening the development of sustainable potato production and marketing systems for improved productivity and trade.  The total value of this project is almost £400,000.

New RERAD grant on Rhynchosporium secalis genome and interaction transcriptome sequencing

A new Scottish Government (RERAD)-funded project on Rhynchosporium genomics has started in Plant Pathology this year. The project is being led by Anna Avrova.

The Rhynchosporium secalis genome and transcriptome sequences obtained in this project will provide a key resource for exploitation to control one of the most destructive pathogens of barley in Scotland and worldwide. Knowledge of the genome sequence will allow genome-wide functional analysis of pathogenicity genes and facilitate the identification of effectors that R. secalis deploys to suppress host defense responses. Such studies will result in a more comprehensive understanding of the R. secalis/barley interaction and lead to the identification of novel resistance and control methods. The genome sequence will also represent an invaluable resource for comparative studies of host-parasite interactions among plant and human fungal pathogens and in studies of eukaryotic evolution.

New BBSRC/RERAD grant on PCN effectors

A new joint project between SCRI and Leeds University has been funded by BBSRC and RERAD.  The project will examine the functional roles of Globodera pallida effectors in inducing the nematode feeding site and in suppressing host defences. The project will be run by John Jones, Vivian Blok and Eleanor Gilroy at SCRI in collaboration with P. Urwin at Leeds.

The project will build on the information coming from the ongoing G. pallida sequencing programme, a joint effort between SCRI, Leeds University, Rothamsted Research and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute.  Details of the sequencing project can be found on the project page of the Sanger website.