Model plant and pest team up

Scientists are using a ‘model’ plant and pest to understand how sap-sucking insect pests like aphids, which cause major crop damage, interact with plants.

Dr Karam Singh and a CSIRO team in Perth are using Medicago truncatula, a legume, as a model to better understand aphid / crop interactions.

Their work, and other international research, has improved the understanding of plant resistance against aphids by identifying and characterising aphid resistance genes in plants.

However, the lack of a complementary aphid model system has slowed work in understanding the aphid side of the interaction.

Now CSIRO has identified and characterised resistance to pea aphid in M.truncatula – this will speed up understanding both sides of the interaction as pea aphid is a ‘model’ aphid with valuable molecular and genomic resources.

CSIRO’s results provide a system where both aphid and plant host can be studied in parallel, in tractable species that can exploit the powers of genomic research.

This will provide a more balanced understanding of plant-aphid interactions and help reduce the impact of aphids on crops.

This research is part of CSIRO’s aim to tackle pests and diseases in important Australian crop plants and provide better food security for the future. It has received support from the former Australian Government Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) and the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC).

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