The implications of global population growth urge transformation of current food and bioenergy production systems to sustainability. Members of the family Poaceae are of particular importance both in food security and for their applications as biofuel substrates. For centuries, rust fungi have threatened the production of valuable crops such as wheat, barley, oat, and other small grains; similarly, biofuel crops can also be susceptible to these pathogens. Emerging rust pathogenic races with increased virulence and recurrent rust epidemics around the world point out the vulnerability of monocultures. Basic research in plant immunity, especially in model plants, can make contributions to understanding plant resistance mechanisms and improve disease management strategies. The development of the grass Brachypodium distachyon as a genetically tractable model for monocots, especially temperate cereals and grasses, offers the possibility to overcome the experimental challenges presented by the genetic and genomic complexities of economically valuable crop plants. The numerous resources and tools available in Brachypodium have opened new doors to investigate the underlying molecular and genetic bases of plant-microbe interactions in grasses and evidence demonstrating the applicability and advantages of working with B. distachyon is increasing. Importantly, several interactions between B. distachyon and devastating plant pathogens, such rust fungi, have been examined in the context of non-host resistance. Here, we discuss the use of B. distachyon in these various pathosystems. Exploiting B. distachyon to understand the mechanisms underpinning disease resistance to non-adapted rust fungi may provide effective and durable approaches to fend off these pathogens. The close phylogenetic relationship among Brachypodium spp. and grasses with industrial and agronomic value support harnessing this model plant to improve cropping systems and encourage its use in translational research.
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 2. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 19 August 2015.
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#15,553,659
of 25,962,638 outputs
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#7,984
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Outputs of similar age
#135,037
of 276,178 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Frontiers in Plant Science
#82
of 272 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 25,962,638 research outputs across all sources so far. This one is in the 38th percentile – i.e., 38% of other outputs scored the same or lower than it.
So far Altmetric has tracked 24,974 research outputs from this source. They receive a mean Attention Score of 3.9. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 65% of its peers.
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We're also able to compare this research output to 272 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 67% of its contemporaries.
