Saskatoon researchers identify genes that restrain a common crop disease

Researchers at the University of Saskatchewan have unlocked a discovery that could revolutionize the canola industry.

A team at NRGene Canada at Innovation Place have found, traced and tracked dominant genes that have proven to have full immunity to clubroot pathogens.

"We did find a number of sources that show resistance and this has been confirmed by a lab that we collaborate with," discovery science lead Eddy Risseeuw said. "That are indeed resistant against the newest pathotypes here in Canada."

Clubroot is a soil-borne disease in canola fields that first appeared in Alberta in 2003. The pathogen is a nightmare for farmers as it quickly spreads and destroys yield — anywhere from small damage to losing entire crops.

"It's basically a race against the clock. The sooner we can get resistance out there, the sooner we can halt or at least slow down the build up," Risseeuw said.

"The only effective way of slowing it down or halting it is through resistance varieties."

While the discovery may not seem monumental, it means a canola variety that would not disrupt yield could hit the market within a few years.

Not only is Canola the most popular crop planted in Saskatchewan, it contributes roughly $29.9 billion to the Canadian economy annually, according to the Canola Council of Canada.

The province's most recent clubroot map inspected 500 fields last year affecting rural municipality's south, northwest and northeast of Saskatoon.

So far the only defense against clubroot is a combination of rotation, resistant varieties and sanitation practices. But currently available resistant varieties can result in a yield loss.

Either way, the clubroot can remain in the soild for 20 years, and transporting even a handful of contaminated dirt to another field can spread infection.

"Genetics is really the only way to handle it once you have it," Sask. Canola director and 15-year farmer Codie Nagy said. "So something that would be completely resistant would be a game changer for everybody that grows canola."

The time, money and effort saved is the easiest motivator to get this technology to market. Nagy said farmers in northern areas have no choice but to extend a four-year canola crop rotation by another two to four years to battle clubroot.

"If you can get, say twice as many canola crops in an eight-year cycle and not have to worry about clubroot attacking you heavily every year, that gives them a lot more economic potential," he said.

Simply put, NRGene general manager Masood Rizvi says this would change the industry, similar to how mRNA vaccination technology was introduced to humans through readily available COVID-19 vaccines compared to traditional technology.

"When COVID-19 came, a vaccine could take three to five years to get produced. It was dramatically reduced where we used mRNA-based vaccines. That's a disruptive technology."

The announcement, first introduced at an industry conference in December has perked up producers and crop companies, resulting in Rizvi's phone ringing constantly.

"This is exciting for everybody. This can change a lot more seed," he said.

In the 20th year after the destructive pathogen was first identified on the prairies in a lab metres away from where canola was first developed more than 50 years ago, a discovery that will let it flourish for another fifty years is taking shape.