(University of Johannesburg) Sorghum anthracnose devastates crops of the drought- and heat-resistant cereal worldwide. Priming with rhizobacteria can boost the plant’s resistance against a range of microbial attacks. University of Johannesburg researchers decoded how priming enhances the ‘security system’ of plants for a much stronger, faster defence. Using metabolomics and machine learning algorithms, they identified changes in the sorghum plant’s chemical response to fungal attack. The low-cost approach can counter other pathogens in economically important food crops.

Original source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-12/uoj-aah112719.php