Wheat Field
Image Credit: Edwin Resmberg
A research team at the University Maryland, led by Dr. Nidhi Rawat , has been awarded a $1 million federal grant to lead an important research in fighting wheat disease.
The funding will accelerate the group's work in developing durable resistance to Furaruim head blight(FHB) . a devastating fungal pathogen that threatens global what and barley supplies.
“By combining mutation discovery with precise gene editing—what we call a ‘mut-ed’ approach—we can validate promising resistance traits and make them available for breeding programs to accelerate crop improvement,” said Dr. Rawat.
The grant will also provide hands-on training to help prepare the next generation of scientists to tackle global food security issues. High school, undergraduate, and graduate students, along with postdoctoral researchers, will take part in the project and gain experience using advanced tools in plant biotechnology, genome analysis, and gene editing.
This was featured on the Maryland Today and the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
