Denmark's investment in the Global Rust Reference Center (GRRC)

The Global Rust Reference Centre (GRRC, www.wheatrust.org) was established in 2008 upon the request of CIMMYT and (ICARDA) and extended in 2011 by the support of the Borlaug Global Rust Initiative. GRRC serve as a global hub for investigating wheat rust fungi and can receive alive samples from all countries year round. The activities of GRRC comprise pathotyping of wheat yellow rust and wheat stem rust, as well as training of students and scientists, data handling and storage (databases) and reporting. The current research activities have a focus on evolutionary population biology, as well as basic genetic and genomic studies in yellow rust. The “Wheat Rust Toolbox” and the team behind has become part of the GRRC and all data generated by GRRC will be stored in this system. Data management, research activities and dissemination will be coordinated and integrated with partner information platforms at CIMMYT, ICARDA, Cornell University and other global partners. The quarantine greenhouse space has in recent years been enlarged by more than 50% allowing GRRC to take in more rust samples and students. The GRRC activities expanded significantly in 2011 and 2013 via grants from the Danish Strategic Research Council and the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries. One of these initiatives, RUSTFIGHT, has a focus on understanding “aggressiveness” and involves a number of Danish and international partners, including ICARDA and CIMMYT, INRA and the John Innes Centre (UK), and private Danish plant breeding Industry.