China eyes food security boost from gene-cloned Asian soybean rust ‘breakthrough’, could save US$2 billion per year
- Team led by a group of Chinese researchers cloned a specific gene that is resistant to Asian soybean rust amid Beijing’s focus on food security and tech self-reliance
- China is the world’s largest soybean importer, making up 60 per cent of global trade, with Brazil and the United States its major suppliers
Chinese researchers have found a way to avert a fatal soybean plant disease that afflicts Latin American exports to China and undercuts Beijing’s drive for food security.
The team, led by a group of Chinese researchers with the Oil Crops Research Institute within the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, have cloned a specific gene that is resistant to Asian soybean rust, said a paper published last week in Nature Communications – a peer-reviewed journal under the Nature Portfolio.
Asian soybean rust – a fungal infection which shows up as brownish or grey spots on a plant’s lower leaves – is also ubiquitous in Latin America, with the severe disease found in all major soybean producing regions.
Chemical control is the only method so far found to control the disease due to limited resistant soybean germplasm, or genetic resources, said the paper.
The new solution to Asian soybean rust, which is caused by phakopsora pachyrhizi, would ensure China has access to more of the key ingredient used for oil, protein and livestock feed.