Since 2011, a mysterious illness known as Yellow Canopy Syndrome, or YCS, has afflicted Australian sugarcane. The condition causes the mid-canopy leaves of otherwise healthy plants to rapidly turn yellow to a degree that the plant's sugar yield can decrease by up to 30 percent.
In recent years, the syndrome has spread across the continent. Losses are estimated at around $40 million and growers fear it could ruin the industry in Australia.
"At the start of the project, there were many possibilities but little evidence to suggest the cause," says Kate Hertweck, an assistant professor of biology at The University of Texas at Tyler (UT Tyler) and a member of the team of researchers exploring the causes of the disease. "It could be a physiological reaction caused by water or nutrients in the soil. Or it could be a biological cause, like an insect, virus or fungus."
Since 2011, a mysterious illness known as Yellow Canopy Syndrome, or YCS, has afflicted Australian sugarcane. The condition causes the mid-canopy leaves of otherwise healthy plants to rapidly turn yellow to a degree that the plant's sugar yield can decrease by up to 30 percent.
In recent years, the syndrome has spread across the continent. Losses are estimated at around $40 million and growers fear it could ruin the industry in Australia.
"At the start of the project, there were many possibilities but little evidence to suggest the cause," says Kate Hertweck, an assistant professor of biology at The University of Texas at Tyler (UT Tyler) and a member of the team of researchers exploring the causes of the disease. "It could be a physiological reaction caused by water or nutrients in the soil. Or it could be a biological cause, like an insect, virus or fungus."
Whereas some researchers use field experiments and microscopy to investigate the disease, Hertweck and her collaborators from Sugar Research Australia and the University of Queensland are pursuing a genomic approach, using next-generation RNA sequencing to compare and analyze genetic data from affected and unaffected plants from diverse field locations over a three-year time span.
"Sugarcane is an important agricultural crop," says Kate Wathen-Dunn, senior technician at Sugar Research Australia. "It also has one of the most complex genetics known, with multiple and variable numbers of each chromosome."
Continue reading at University of Texas At Austin - Texas Advanced Computing Center
Image: Yellow Canopy Syndrome (YCS) is a condition affecting sugarcane in Australia, the cause of which has not been identified. YCS causes yellowing of the mid-canopy leaves and reduces the amount of sugar that can be extracted from the cane. Researchers are using TACC's supercomputers to investigate possible clues to YCS's cause in genetic data. Image Credit: Annelie Marquardt / Sugar Research Australia
