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Parsnip Itersonilia – looking for solutions?. BBSRC PhD CASE Studentship with Elsoms Seeds Ltd. Lauren Chappell Warwick Crop Centre, University of Warwick. Identifying the problem. Parsnips are a speciality U mbelliferous crop within the UK. Cover area of 3,100ha.
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Parsnip Itersonilia – looking for solutions? BBSRC PhD CASE Studentship with Elsoms Seeds Ltd Lauren Chappell Warwick Crop Centre, University of Warwick
Identifying the problem • Parsnips are a specialityUmbelliferous crop within the UK. • Cover area of 3,100ha. • Economic value of £64M annually. • Crop losses primarily due to cankers.
How to solve the problem? • Cankers have been identified as the primary cause of Parsnip losses. • Pathogens responsible for causing lesions identified. • Carry out high quality research into the epidemiology of the pathogens. • Improve breeding using molecular techniques.
Itersonilia • Three species of Itersonilia: • Itersonilia pyriformis • Itersonilia perplexans • Itersonilia pastinacae
Itersonilia pastinacae • Seed-borne pathogen • Foliar Symptoms • Necrotic lesions on leaves surrounded by a yellow halo. • Root Symptoms • Black cankers on shoulder/crown of root.
How do we know Itersonilia’s the problem? • Identification of the disease in the field. • Isolation of the pathogen from infected leaf/root material. • Pathogens are cultured in the lab. • Cultures then used to reinfect parsnip material – Koch’s postulates.
Research • What we have: • Parsnip Transcriptome • Itersonilia Genome • What we need: • Phenotypic (observable) data • Genotypic data • Combining these data types for QTL mapping
Marker Technology • Traditional Parsnip breeding methods can take up to 18yrs. • Using marker technology can halve this time. • The first stage is screening Parsnip line for resistance and susceptibility to cankers: • Parsnip lines were screened. • Resistance and susceptibility were assessed.
Resistance Screening Results Resistance Susceptibility
Future Work • Further work into the pathogens causing cankers and lesions • Further resistance assays on parsnip lines • Assembly of genetic maps • Identification of markers linked to QTLs
Acknowledgements Mrs. Sue Kennedy Dr. Adrian Dunford Dr. Richard Tudor Dr. John Clarkson Dr. Guy Barker Dr. Graham Teakle