Fighting Fungi With Fungi

“Most fungi are not really harmful,” explains McGill University mycologist Dr. Suha Jabaji-Hare. “Some are found in the soil to keep the soil healthy, some live in the roots to keep the plant happy, but others are born to destroy the fungi that are such bad news for farmers.”

Fungal parasites can destroy entire crops. Some of them survive the winter in the soil; some stay with plant debris. When spring arrives, they begin propagating disease in new seedlings.

To determine effective control agents, the NSERC-funded researcher first extracts a sample which contains all DNA from the soil (this includes plant, animal, bacterial, fungal and sometimes even human DNA). A range of specially-designed DNA probes then pinpoint either specific fungal plant pathogens or their fungal biocontrol agents.

“We can now monitor the disease even before the symptoms appear,” Dr. Jabaji-Hare says.

Dr. Jabaji-Hare’s specific DNA probes use PCR (polymerase chain reaction) technology, which mass produces DNA in a matter of minutes.

“PCR is such a powerful technology that it can help us answer questions in a matter of minutes what used to take us months,” she says.