Title: Red Menace
Course: BIS 105 Environmental Biology > Section: BIS 105 Environmental Biology

Q: Read the article "Red Menace: Stop the Ug99 Fungus Before Its Spores Bring Starvation" at http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/02/ff_ug99_fungus/all/

What is the name of the fungus that is of concern?

Q: Where is the origin of this new strain?

Q: What percentage of the world’s wheat is vulnerable to this new disease?

Q: What are the potential consequences if this fungus would spread to worldwide crops?

Q: Who won the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize for his work on agriculture?

Q: When was the last time the USA experienced a major stem rust outbreak?

Q: Where is the USDA’s Cereal Disease Laboratory located? What do they research?

Q: What countries have experienced infections with the new stem rust? How has it spread to all of these countries?

Q: How long is needed to determine if a sample is infected with Ug99?

Q: Previously most crops have relied on a single major gene like Sr31 to confer resistance to a disease. What is an alternative to this methodology?