New Inoculation Method Can Protect Soybeans Against Devastating Leaf Blight

Jan 03, 2022

Reported in three major soybean-producing countries in South America (Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay), Cercospora leaf blight (CLB) is a global threat to soybean. CLB causes dark-purple lesions on leaves and premature defoliation, which can diminish soybean production.

soybean production

Currently there are no CLB-resistant soybean cultivars, and fungicides are becoming less effectiveness as CLB develops resistance. To combat this devastating disease, it is imperative to breed resistant soybeans.

Thanks to a collaboration between scientists at the Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences in Japan and at the National University of Northwestern Buenos Aires and the National Institute of Agricultural Technology in Brazil, we now have an inoculation method that can identify resistance against one of the CLB pathogens.

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Video: Finding a Balance of Innovation and Regulation - Dr. Peter Facchini

Regulations help markets and industry exist on level playing fields, keeping consumers safe and innovation from going too far. However, incredibly strict regulations can stunt innovation and cause entire industries to wither away. Dr. Peter James Facchini brings his perspective on how existing regulations have slowed the advancement of medical developments within Canada. Given the international concern of opium poppy’s illicit potential, Health Canada must abide by this global policy. But with modern technology pushing the development of many pharmaceuticals to being grown via fermentation, is it time to reconsider the rules?

Dr. Peter James Facchini leads research into the metabolic biochemistry in opium poppy at the University of Calgary. For more than 30 years, his work has contributed to the increased availability of benzylisoquinoline alkaloid biosynthetic genes to assist in the creation of morphine for pharmaceutical use. Dr. Facchini completed his B.Sc. and Ph.D. in Biological Sciences at the University of Toronto before completing Postdoctoral Fellowships in Biochemistry at the University of Kentucky in 1992 & Université de Montréal in 1995.