Wednesday 23 April, 4pm to 5pm (UK time) - in Microsoft Teams.

This webinar will focus on current research on Fusarium and will be led by Prof John Clarkson from Warwick Crop Centre.

Fusarium oxysporum causes wilts and root rots in many important crop plants and is a focus for much of John's current research. As a species complex, F. oxysporum provides a fascinating example of host specialisation through the evolution of more than 120 formae speciales each of which is uniquely adapted to different host plants; however this presents major challenges for diagnostics and plant breeding. To address this, John's group has collaborated with NIAB and industry partners to employ genome sequencing to identify some of the pathogenicity genes associated with host specificity which can be used as targets for new molecular diagnostics. A current project is developing a commercial test for Fusarium basal rot in onion with ADAS. John’s group are also addressing the challenge of new races which overcome plant resistance which led to the emergence in the UK of F. oxysporum f.sp lactucae race 4 in lettuce.