MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY
Save our spuds: Memorial microbiologist working to get to bottom of 'common' potato disease

Part of an ongoing series of Gazette stories celebrating researchers who received support as part a major investment by the federal government in science and research on June 14.

Memorial University researchers want to get to the root cause of a devastating agricultural problem.

Common scab, known by its brown, scab-like lesions on the surface, affects potatoes and other root crops.

Dr. Dawn Bignell, professor, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, and her team study a group of bacteria called streptomyces, commonly found in soil.

In particular, they focus on species that are harmful to plants and are responsible for common scab disease.

That research is critical to this country.

According to the federal government, potatoes are the fifth largest agriculture crop grown in Canada.

A scabby potato // Photo: Submitted

"Common scab is prevalent in many potato growing regions in Canada, with fresh market, seed and processing potatoes all being affected," Dr. Bignell noted. "The disease management strategies currently in use are largely ineffective or inefficient."

Producers suffer

While the potatoes are safe to consume, Dr. Bignell says the lesions reduce the quality and market value of the crop.

As a result, potatoes inflicted with common scab are not worth as much as unaffected ones; when disease symptoms are severe, producers often cannot sell their product.

Dr. Bignell recently secured a $240,000 grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) for the project, Exploring the Molecular Mechanisms of Plant Pathogenicity in Streptomyces Bacteria.

"We anticipate this knowledge will assist in the development of new disease management strategies." Dr. Dawn Bignell

Her team's research will provide new insights on how and why streptomyces infect developing potatoes and cause common scab disease in the first place.

Specifically, they're studying the small molecules produced by the common scab pathogens that are toxic to plants.

"The funding received will allow us to investigate how these molecules contribute to disease development and how their production is controlled in the pathogens," Dr. Bignell said. "We anticipate this knowledge will assist in the development of new disease management strategies that will help reduce the economic impact of common scab disease on Canadian potato producers."

Support for students

In addition to benefiting the agriculture industry, Dr. Bignell says NSERC's funding will allow for hands-on technical training of undergraduate and graduate students in a broad range of subjects including microbiology, molecular biology, biochemistry, bioinformatics, analytical chemistry and plant-microbe interaction studies.

Thanks to NSERC's support, she says, students will also gain transferable skills such as project management, critical thinking and teamwork, which will help prepare them for their future careers.

Learn more about research at Memorial and check out Research Strategy 2023-28 to learn how we're moving ideas forward.