Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 21, 2026

The Plant Infection Test: Spray and Wound-Mediated Inoculation with the Plant Pathogen Magnaporthe Grisea
Published on: August 4, 2018
Avirulence (AVR) Gene-Based Diagnosis Complements Existing Pathogen Surveillance Tools for Effective Deployment of
S M Selisana1, M J Yanoria1, B Quime1
1First and sixth authors: Institute of Biological Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, University of the Philippines Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines; second, third, fourth, eleventh, and twelfth authors: Genetics and Biotechnology Division, International Rice Research Institute, Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines; fourth author: Department of Genetics, Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand; fifth author: The Key Laboratory of Biopesticide and Chemistry Biology, Ministry of Education, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China; seventh and eighth authors: Department of Plant Pathology, The Ohio State University, Columbus; ninth author: Department of Plant Pathology, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville; and tenth author: Biosciences Department, Exeter University, UK.
A new tool uses avirulence (AVR) genes to diagnose rice blast pathogen virulence. This method precisely identifies pathogen populations and predicts resistance gene effectiveness in rice varieties.
Area of Science:
- Plant Pathology
- Molecular Genetics
- Agricultural Science
Background:
- Magnaporthe oryzae, the cause of rice blast disease, evolves by mutating avirulence (AVR) genes to evade plant resistance (R) genes.
- Understanding pathogen virulence is crucial for developing durable disease resistance in rice.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate an AVR-gene-based diagnostic tool for assessing the virulence spectrum of rice blast pathogen populations.
- To correlate AVR gene frequencies with the effectiveness of R genes in differential rice lines.
Main Methods:
- Pathotype analysis of 77 field isolates using R-gene differential lines.
- Haplotype determination of seven AVR genes via PCR amplification and sequencing.
- Correlation analysis between AVR gene frequencies and differential line resistance frequencies.
Main Results:
- Twenty virulent pathotypes were identified among 77 isolates; 10 differential lines showed low resistance (<24%), 8 showed high resistance (>95%).
- AVRPiz-t and AVR-Pii were highly frequent (100% and 84.9%), while AVR-Pik-D, AVR-Pik-E, AVRPiz-t, AVR-Pita, AVR-Pia, and AVR1-CO39 showed low or zero frequency.
- A discrepancy in three differential lines (IRBLzt-T, IRBLta-K1, IRBLkp-K60) suggested the presence of an additional R gene, likely Pi19 or an allele.
Conclusions:
- AVR-gene-based diagnosis offers a precise, R-gene-specific, and differential line-free method for pathogen virulence assessment.
- This tool can predict the effectiveness of R genes in rice varieties, aiding in breeding strategies against rice blast.
More Related Videos
09:25Genome-wide Analysis of Histone Modifications Distribution using the Chromatin Immunoprecipitation Sequencing Method in Magnaporthe oryzae
Published on: June 2, 2021
07:36Visualizing Early Infection Sites of Rice Blast Disease Magnaporthe oryzae on Barley Hordeum vulgare Using a Basic Microscope and a Smartphone
Published on: March 17, 2023
Related Concept Videos
Plant Breeding and Biotechnology
CRISPR and crRNAs
The CRISPR-Cas system stores a copy of foreign DNA in the host genome and uses it to identify the foreign DNA upon reinfection. CRISPR-Cas has three different...
The Antiviral System of Bacteria and Archaea: CRISPR
Rapid Identification of Pathogens