Mildew Mania PLUS An evolutionary arms- race in the field

2009 mildew sampling pathotypes Red = wildtype Blue = fungicide resistant mutant

2012 mildew sampling pathotypes Red = wildtype Blue = fungicide resistant mutant

AIMS  To encourage students to enrol in agricultural studies and engage with scientific research  To identify when powdery mildew is present  To collect samples and identify which barley varieties have genetic resistance, and which strain(s) of powdery mildew are present

Continue planting 1 pot each week until signs of mildew infection. Week 1: plant Baudin seeds Week 2: plant Baudin seeds Week 3: plant Baudin seeds Week 4: plant Baudin seeds Week 5: INFECTION FOUND??! Proceed with planting all extra cultivars including Baudin with and without fungicide Monitor new pots every week for signs of infection. Record how many, in which pots and when infection occurs – send samples to ACNFP

All pots should contain ~4 seeds/pot, ~1cm deep, and watered every 2-3days weekActivity for the week 1Plant pot 1 of Baudin seeds 2Plant pot 2 of Baudin seeds, check pot 1 for mildew, record results 3Plant pot 3 of Baudin seeds, check pots 1 & 2, record results 4Plant pot 4 of Baudin seeds, check pots 1, 2 & 3, record results. Give pot 1 fertiliser 5? POWERDRY MILDEW FOUND?! Take photo and /text to ACNFP to confirm. Plant pot 5 of Baudin seeds. Plant pots 6,7,8,9,10&11 with other barley cultivars, fungicide treated Baudin and wheat. Give pot 2 fertiliser. 6Give pot 3 fertiliser. Check new pots for mildew, record results (if mildew present, if so, which plants?) 7Give pot 4 fertiliser. Check new pots for mildew, record results 8Give pots 5,6,7,8,9,10 &11 fertiliser. Check new pots for mildew, record results 9If any pots other than the normal Baudin get infected, collect a sample and post it to us for testing.

Advantages of the PLUS  More chance of infection due to presence of “disease nursery”  Multiple cultivars of barley with different levels of genetic resistance  Genetically susceptible barley treated with fungicide  Extension lesson activities which we can design and present to your students

Possible incursions:  All years  Experimental design and practise – how to ensure a fair and reliable test  Year 8  Classification of cells - difference between fungi, plant and animal cells: physical properties and reproduction  Year 9  Ecosystem communities – biotic and abiotic factors which effect agricultural populations eg. competition, genetic variability, rainfall, fungicide use etc  Year 10  Co-evolution – mildew and barley have evolved together, as one resistant gene evolved, a new virulence gene evolved  Year 11&12 (biology/ integrated/plant production systems)  Using biotechnology - students design a diagnostic test to determine if a specific barley cultivar contains a mutation in a resistance gene