UBC - Controlled-environment facility (CEF) for cereal crop research

Term: 1 year, beginning in 2021

Status: Ongoing

Funding Amount: $165,000

Lead Researcher(s): Dr. Gurcharn Singh Brar (University of British Columbia)

Funding Partners: Western Grains Research Foundation (WGRF), Saskatchewan Barley Research Foundation (SaskBarley)

---

Project Description

Dr. Brar is starting his lab focused on the study of plant pathogens, host-pathogen interactions, and breeding for disease resistance at the University of British Columbia (UBC). The lab is the only one on the UBC campus that will carry out research on grain crops and applied aspects of plant pathology. The research from the lab will focus on answering some of the key questions in the area of plant pathology - i.e.: why plant pathogens are so successful in the environment and defeating plant defence mechanisms, why some plant genotypes/species can defend themselves better than others against pathogens, and how we can make use of natural immunity in certain genotypes/species to build durable resistance in our crop varieties. To answer these questions, we will develop methods/approaches to characterize crop pathogens and host resistance using modern technologies.