14-year-old looks to genetically fingerprint a lentil-killing fungus
April 22, 2010 by admin
At just 14, Rui Song has become a fixture on the winners’ list in the Saskatchewan regional SABC.
While still at Greystone Heights Public School, she won the Junior Division twice – in 2008 and 2009 – and the streak continued this year, Rui’s Grade 9 year at Walter Murray Collegiate Institute.
Her winning project was an effort to find molecular markers that can tell the difference between two closely related types of the fungus Colletotrichum truncate (Ct), that attacks lentil crops.
Though almost identical genetically, one race attacks lentils far more aggressively, causing 50% losses in some areas.
A genetic method of differentiating the two races will save time and money for agricultural researchers, allowing rapid evaluation of Saskatchewan lentil fields to warn farmers about the race of Ct in their area, while assisting efforts to develop resistant lentil varieties.
Rui said that while her project did not uncover the definitive identifier that solves the Ct riddle, her research into 50 of the 2,000 potential genetic markers provided a promising direction for more detailed research in future.
And for Rui Song, there’s always next year. “I love the field of molecular genetics and this competition provides a unique opportunity for someone like me to do high-level research guided by mentors who are some of the best minds in their field.”