Wheat scab is becoming increasingly severe in China due to changes in climate and cultivation modes. In the recent five years, 82 million mu of wheat has been infected with Fusarium graminearum per annum, accounting for one fifth of the total cultivated area, which has thereby exerted a debilitating impact on wheat yields. Moreover, it has also jeopardized the health of mankind and livestock. For lack of wheat breeds highly resistant to scab, chemical substances are a major preventative method, but the growing drug-resistance of the fungus tremendously affects the preventative effect of daily pesticide.
The research team, led by MA Zhonghua of the Institute of Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, carried out a systematic analysis into the biological functions of 82 putative phosphatases and identified phosphatases important for various aspects of hyphal growth, development, plant infection and secondary metabolism. Relevant findings were published in the New Phytologist (2015, 207:119-134) (IF=7.672).