Sclerotinia sclerotiorum is a phytopathogenic fungus which causes serious yield losses in canola. A pathogen inducible-promoter can facilitate the production of Sclerotinia-resistant transgenic canola plants. Inthis study, the “gain of function approach” was adopted for the construction of a pathogen-inducible promoter.The synthetic promoter technique was used, which involved the in...

Weeds are a nuisance in a variety of land uses. The increasing prevalence of both herbicide resistant weeds and bans on cosmetic pesticide use has created a strong impetus to develop novel strategies for controlling weeds. The application of bacteria, fungi and viruses to achieving this goal has received increasingly great attention over the last three decades. Proposed benefits to this strateg...

Hypovirulence in fungal plant pathogens refers to the reduced ability of selected isolates within a population of a pathogen to infect, colonize, kill, and (or) reproduce on susceptible host tissues and is often associated with fungal viruses and associated double-stranded RNA elements. It has been reported to occur in numerous fungal plant pathogens, including Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, S. mino...

Identifying the molecular and genetic basis of resistance to Sclerotinia stem rot (Sclerotinia sclerotiorum) is critical for developing long-term cost-effective management this disease in rapeseed/canola (Brassica napus). Current cultural or chemical options provide, at best, only partial and/or sporadic control. Towards this, a B. napus breeding population (Mystic x Rainbow), including parents...