Plant biologist explains how disease-resistant crops could help prevent global famine

Each month, those working at the pioneering heart of Norwich Research Park [in the UK] tell us how their work is shaping the world.

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Scientists are racing to stop plant diseases that could devastate staple crops like wheat, corn and potato – resulting in food shortages around the world. Biologist Dr Peter van Esse of The Sainsbury Laboratory is one of them.

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How is your work making a difference to the world today? …. If a fungus was to take hold in the wheat-producing region of Punjab, India; it would be similar to a natural disaster like a tsunami …. Our biggest crops are already affected by diseases that could become catastrophic — my job is to avoid that.

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That sounds quite dramatic. The Irish potato famine of 1845-49 killed over 1 million …. people might not think that could happen again, but it could.

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How are you preparing for this threat? …. Because plant pathogens can quickly overcome single resistance sources, we must build more robust solutions, a bit like having a longer password for security. If we introduce four types of resistance into the plant to recognize a disease before it spreads through a crop, it’ll be resistant for much longer.

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