Research summary
Microbial diseases and pests can reduce yields and ruin crops—and the economic and social consequences for farmers can be significant. Every year, Canadian crop farmers battle diseases by spraying fields with environmentally unfriendly pesticides.
Dr. Jacqueline Monaghan, Canada Research Chair in Plant Immunology, hopes to discover agricultural practices that can improve crop yield while reducing chemical use. Just as understanding the human immune system is important in developing effective drugs and vaccines, understanding the plant immune system is important for managing crop diseases effectively. To that end, she and her research team are exploring how plants defend themselves against pathogens.