Pyricularia oryzae lineage Triticum causing wheat blast disease: An emerging threat to the EPPO region
2025
Loos, Renaud | Tharreau, Didier
Pyricularia oryzae encompasses several different genetic lineages which are generally host-specific. The Triticum lineage of P. oryzae is responsible for wheat blast disease. This disease, which originally emerged in South America in the 1980s, is currently responsible for considerable damage to wheat crops, and no effective control methods are available. This disease now represents a danger for all wheat-producing countries, such as those in the EPPO region. Wheat blast in the EPPO region could emerge either via a host jump from the Lolium genetic lineage from ryegrass to wheat grown nearby or from the introduction of P. oryzae Triticum lineage—infected wheat grains from regions of the world where the disease is prevalent. The recent example of the introduction of the disease in Bangladesh, via infected wheat grains, shows that it is necessary to prevent the long-distance movement of the pathogen by importing only healthy seeds. It appears essential to monitor wheat crops in the EPPO region in order to detect the disease early by identifying potential symptoms and laboratory testing, and to test wheat seeds when imported from countries in which the pest is present. To do this, different detection tools are available, which should ideally be combined to obtain a reliable analysis result.
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