A portable, nanopore-based genotyping platform for near real-time detection of Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici lineages and fungicide sensitivity

Wheat stem rust, caused by Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici, threatens global food security. Using Oxford Nanopore sequencing, researchers rapidly genotyped field samples in under 48 hours, detecting lineage and fungicide resistance. The approach enables full-gene coverage, variant phasing, and is deployable in low-resource settings — supporting faster, more informed disease control strategies against this ‘cereal killer’.