Crop Talk

Jumping Genes and Pathogenic Schemes: the diverse roles that transposons play in pathogen evolution.

Megan McDonald at THE EWG ON WHEAT PATHOGENS WEBINAR SERIES

Thursday, November 20, 2025 17:00 18:00 (UK GMT)

Join the meeting @ Microsoft Teams # Meeting ID: 281 268 009 362 4
Passcode: JR9kd7YE

Summary of the talk:
Transposons have carried many names since their discovery by Barbara McClintock in 1950. Common names such as “junk-DNA” underplayed their importance in the driving adaptation in the genomes of organisms where they are found. As described by Prof. McClintock transposons have a powerful impact on the phenotype of the host, which we now understand to be driven by several different mechanisms, including gene disruption, exon capture and regulatory changes, among others. Our work over the last several years has sought to understand how transposons drive adaptive evolution in plant pathogenic fungi. Fungal genomes are highly variable in their transposon content and contain many novel transposons that have yet to be functionally characterised. We now have very detailed examples of how transposons drive the duplication, pseduogenisation and horizontal movement of effector genes all of which can have real world impacts on the incidence and severity of disease in the field. This talk will explore two of these examples; firstly the duplication and inactivation of ToxB by helitron transposons and secondly the horizontal movement of the necrotrophic effector ToxA within giant Starship transposons. This work provides a foundation for the study of transposon-mediated effector evolution at the field scale as well as mechanistic studies that leverage the diversity of fungal transposons for novel applications in biotechnology.

Megan McDonald at THE EWG ON WHEAT PATHOGENS WEBINAR SERIES — Wheat initiative Our Expert Working Group on Control of Wheat Pathogens has invitedMegan McDonald from the University of Brimingham, UK to this online talk. The title  of the presentation is Jumping Genes and Pathogenic Schemes: the diverse roles that transposons play in pathogen evolution . Summary

Going bananas
The Documentary

The world’s most popular banana is under threat. A killer fungus is ravaging plantations of the Cavendish banana worldwide. It travels through the soil at lightning speed and chokes the banana plant so its leaves shrivel up and die. The disease is known as Tropical Race 4, or TR4 for short, and it has spread across the globe from Australia, to the Philippines, Pakistan and Mozambique. In Colombia, where 30,000 people are employed in banana plantations, the government declared a state of national emergency when the fungus first arrived on farms in 2019.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct6x3x

other links:
https://globalagriculturalproductivity.org/saving-the-banana-from-tropical-race-4/
https://research.qut.edu.au/cab/projects/fusarium-wilt-tropical-race-4/
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-58378-9
https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/full/10.1079/cabicompendium.59074053
https://www.miic.gov.jm/content/tropical-race-4-tr4-disease
https://www.eppo.int/ACTIVITIES/plant_quarantine/alert_list_fungi/fusarium_tr4

BBC World Service - The Documentary, Going bananas A killer fungus known as Tropical Race 4 is ravaging banana plantations worldwide

What is your carbon footprint? Use this interactive calculator to find out—and pledge to take action.

Integrated multi-omics analysis reveals drought stress response mechanism in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)

Integrated multi‐omics analysis reveals drought stress response mechanism in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) Multi-omics analysis of chickpea roots revealed complex molecular mechanisms underpinning drought stress response. Integration of transcriptome and proteome data uncovered hub proteins involved in d...

The good, the bad, and the phosphate: regulation of beneficial and detrimental plant–microbe interactions by the plant phosphate status

The good, the bad, and the phosphate: regulation of beneficial and detrimental plant–microbe interactions by the plant phosphate status Phosphate (Pi) is indispensable for life on this planet. However, for sessile land plants it is poorly accessible. Therefore, plants have developed a variety of strategies for enhanced acquisition an...

How a fungus sidesteps a plant's defense mechanism

How a fungus sidesteps a plant's defense mechanism RIKEN scientists have discovered how a parasitic fungus renders harmless a powerful anti-fungal compound produced by some plants. As well as providing a fascinating glimpse into the ongoing arms race between plants and parasites, the finding could be useful for developing new therapies for people.

How a mysterious protein plays a crucial role in plant growth

How a mysterious protein plays a crucial role in plant growth It's springtime on campus, which means that flowers and plants of all kinds are bursting to life, growing and blooming.

The Silent Facilitator of Plant Invaders in Northern Chile

The Silent Facilitator of Plant Invaders in Northern Chile In the arid plains of northern Chile, exotic halophytes leverage soil salinity as a weapon to outcompete native plants, setting the stage for an ecological invasion.

The perfect blend: how coffee farms in Costa Rica are mixing wildlife, agriculture and tourism

The perfect blend: how coffee farms in Costa Rica are mixing wildlife, agriculture and tourism A new crop of farming co-ops are finding ways to safely open up untouched landscapes and exotic wildlife to visitors – and grow superb coffee

How Native Plants Could Help in the Battle Against Invasive Species in Aquatic Ecosystems

How Native Plants Could Help in the Battle Against Invasive Species in Aquatic Ecosystems Scientists discover a promising strategy to combat aquatic invasive species using the natural defences of a local plant, Ludwigia peploides.

How Soybeans Offer Solutions for Nutrient-Stressed Agriculture

How Soybeans Offer Solutions for Nutrient-Stressed Agriculture Unlocking how soybeans thrive in phosphorus-poor soils could revolutionise our approach to sustainable agriculture.