The general objective of this project is to develop the biological, etiological, epidemiological, genetic and biotechnological information necessary to control losses due to rice diseases. These objectives are met by identifying pathogens affecting rice in Louisiana, by identifying or developing new sources of disease resistance, by transferring resistance to breeding lines for use in the LSU Agricultural Center rice breeding program, by studying the mechanisms of resistance through investigation of the transfer and inheritance of resistance mechanisms, and by developing a better understanding of host-pathogen interactions and epidemiological factors impacting the successful use of disease resistance and other control measures in rice production.

Specifically our objectives are to locate and maintain sources of natural disease resistance in Oryza sativa L. and related species for use in rice improvement; to develop and/or transfer new sources of disease resistance in rice; to identify mechanisms of disease resistance in rice to major pathogens; to develop information on mode of action of mechanisms and study the inheritance of genes controlling resistance mechanisms; to develop rice lines with desirable levels of disease resistance using conventional breeding methods and combine this resistance in germplasm with desirable plant type and yield characteristics for use as elite lines in the rice breeding program conducted at the LSU AgCenter Rice Research Station at Crowley, La.; and to develop methods for identifying and quantifying pathogens from diseased tissues and seeds, including development of selective media and the use of PCR, real-time PCR and ELISA.