Newly published research to combat devastating disease of wheat plants University of Minnesota and USDA ARS A team of scientists has identified a promising resistance gene that could help fight a devastating fungus called stem rust, which attacks wheat crops and threatens global food security. The discovery, recently published in Nature Plants, also identifies a gene in the fungus that triggers this resistance in the host plant, and together these discoveries provide a pathway to help wheat growers defend against this disease. Stem rust, a virulent wheat disease (caused by the fungus Puccinia graminis) has become a major threat to wheat crops in Africa and other regions. Breeders and farmers need access to more resistant germplasm (seeds) to protect wheat yields from losses due to disease epidemics, like the Ug99 strain which is attacking wheat crops in Africa and the Middle East.