Published September 13, 2023, Ashley Robinson wrote about the threat of Asian Soybean Rust (ASR) in the trade journal SeedWorld, including work of 2Blades and its collaborator Sergio Brommonschenckel at the Federal University at Vicosa, Brazil, and industry partners – Corteva and Bayer.

In “Fighting Back Against Asian Soybean Rust” Robinson writes, “With new Asian Soybean Rust resistant soybean varieties on the way, there’s hope for South American farmers”

Robinson describes 2Blades’ efforts and partnerships to develop new soybean varieties with strong ASR resistance.

“In 2019, a full sequencing of the ASR pathogen genome was decoded and released by researchers paving the way for transgenic ASR-resistant soybean varieties. One of the groups involved in the decoding of P. pachyrhizi, 2Blades, is breeding ASR-resistant soybeans using transgenics. The researchers investigated soybean relatives and found ASR resistance in them.”

She reported the 2022 news from Corteva on varieties carrying a resistance gene identified by 2Blades showing efficacy in field trials in Latin America and that 2Blades has worked with Bayer CropScience to provide novel ASR resistance genes for Bayer’s soybean varieties over the past 5 years.

The article can be read at Seed World at this link:

https://www.seedworld.com/fighting-back-against-asian-soybean-rust/