Pearl millet is the most drought tolerant of all domesticated cereals. It is widely grown, and its worst pest is downy mildew disease, which is caused by the fungus Sclerospora graminicola (Sacc.) Schroet. Control methods are ineffective, since the crop is grown under a wide range of environmental settings.

With a little outside help, Bejai R. Sarosh, and colleagues, of the University of Mysore, India document the “Elicitation of defense related enzymes and resistance by L-methionine in pearl millet against downy mildew disease caused by Sclerospora graminicola.” Their work appears in the latest issue of the Journal of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry.

Researchers induced resistance to downy mildew by treating the crop with L-methionine. They then profiled the messenger RNA transcripts which accumulated, and found that a good number of defense response genes were being expressed due to the treatment.

Subscribers to the Journal of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry can access the complete article at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.plaphy.2005.06.009.

Source: CropBiotech Update