b"approaches to disease management. meaning you have to start the process over They'll even investigate innovativeagain, she says.strategies like RNA interference alongsideEven if you manage to suppress one breeding resistant crop varieties. While newdisease, another new disease can emerge resistant varieties take time to develop,and become significant, requiring your RNA interference is a novel approach for in- attention. You have to accept that you'll field disease management that could offernever reach a point where you can say, My some solutions in the meantime. job is done, I can retire, and nothing more will happen.Collaboration Critical And that requires vision and the One of the people doing that breedingleadership abilities to carry it out, some-work is Ana Vargas. Shes been at the CDCthing Banniza has in spades. She was just in various roles for eight years now, butnamed one of the most influential women recently took on the role of lentil and fabain Canadian agriculture and has been bean breeder. selected for the W.J. White Professorship Collaboration is critical for a plantin the Department of Plant Sciences at the breeder, and stepping into her current posi- CDC, which she will occupy for a three-tion, shes been fortunate to have outstand- year term. She was also recognized for her ing collaborators with extensive experienceAna Vargas is a lentil and faba bean breeder atoutstanding contribution to the agronomy in important areas for enhancing lentils andthe CDC. profession by the Saskatchewan Institute of faba beans.Agrologists.Banniza is a major one of those collabo- As an early career scientist, I couldn't rators. She has also dedicated her career tosequenced, Banniza notes. Her work onhave asked for a better guide. She's inclu-studying foliar diseases in lentils, particu- anthracnose is unique in the world, beingsive, supportive, and always available to larly anthracnose. Her work in sequencingthe most detailed work in this area thatoffer guidance as I navigate the complexi-the genome of the anthracnose fungusashes aware of. ties of my role, Vargas adds.major foliar disease in lentilhas been aWe sequenced the genome to under- Sabines been an incredible mentor huge help to Vargas. stand how this fungus invades a plant andand support system. Her work has provided importantwhat it does once inside the tissue. TheReflecting on her career, Banniza says insights into the sources of resistance torelationship between a pathogen and itsit was challenging as a female scientist in this disease, which remains a significanthost determines whether a disease willthe beginning. However, it's become easier challenge in lentil cultivation. Leveragingdevelop, and understanding how it devel- over time with increased awareness and the resources shes developed will beops is important to breeding for resist- support for women in science.essential for our breeding program, Vargasance, Banniza says. Part of being good at what you do says. involves having the right mentors and Sabine has been instrumental in ourLeadership being in an environment where your skills program by also focusing on root rot, whichOf course, thats never as easy as it sounds.and talents are recognized and nurtured, has emerged as a primary concern in lentilThe biggest challenge in plant pathology isBanniza says. cultivation. She's already established pre- that plant diseases are not static, BannizaYou also need to have a clear idea of liminary breeding tools, which is a fantasticsays.your end goal, she adds. starting point for our work. It's been aIts not as simple as identifying a dis- We are putting a lot of energy into privilege to step into a program with suchease like anthracnose, breeding resistance,establishing robust root rot resistance strong collaborators and existing resourcesand considering the problem solved. Inbreeding programs for peas and lentils. like she provides. most cases, you can't completely eradi- I'm hopeful that we will release varieties Many people are familiar with plantcate the pathogen, and you rarely achievewith much betterthough not complete genomes being sequenced, but far fewercomplete resistance. Over time, pathogens resistance in the coming years, which fungal or pathogen genomes have beenevolve, leading to resistance breakdown,should significantly alleviate this problem.JULY 2024 SEEDWORLD.COM/CANADA 23"