Join us as Dr. Allen Wen, Head of Plant SynBio Australia at the Research School of Biology, Australian National University, presents his talk titled 'Edited Eukaryotic Translation Initiation Factors Confer Resistance Against Maize Lethal Necrosis.'

Biography

Dr. Allen Wen is an energetic and enthusiastic plant molecular biologist with a distinctive blend of academic rigor and industry-driven R&D experience. He brings deep expertise in gene editing, molecular biology, biochemistry, microscopy, electrophysiology, and plant physiology. Mentored by leaders across both academia and industry, Dr. Wen is known for his collaborative approach and translational focus in plant science research.

Dr. Wen currently serves as Head of Plant Synthetic Biology at the Australian National University (ANU), where he is leading efforts to bring state-of-the-art genetic transformation and genome editing technologies to wheat and barley research within the Australian academic plant science community.

Previously, Dr. Wen was a Scientist at KeyGene (USA), contributing to advanced projects in molecular cloning and electrophysiology. At the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), he established a robust maize gene-editing platform during the COVID-19 pandemic and successfully co-delivered a virus-resistant elite maize line in collaboration with Corteva Agriscience. He also developed high-throughput phenotyping methods for complex traits such as phytic acid, polyphenol oxidase, ammonium, and sugar content.

Dr. Wen began his research career as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Sydney, studying plant nitrogen and chloride uptake using molecular, biochemical, and electrophysiological approaches. He received his Ph.D. in Plant Physiology from the University of Adelaide, where he discovered a key amino acid mutation that governs the substrate specificity of maize nitrate transporters.

Widely recognized for his interdisciplinary skill set, Dr. Wen excels at bridging basic research and applied crop innovation to advance sustainable agriculture.

Abstract

Maize lethal necrosis (MLN), caused by the synergistic infection of Maize chlorotic mottle virus (MCMV) and Sugarcane mosaic virus (SCMV), poses a significant threat to food security for smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Our recent discovery -- a unique allele of the eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) -- offers an effective solution to this challenge. Plant eIF4E proteins facilitate viral infection by assisting in the translation of viral genomes; our novel allele confers resistance to MLN by disrupting this process. This breakthrough originated from an experimental maize line, Fast-Flowering Mini Maize, which carries a truncated eIF4E protein. The naturally mutated eIF4E retains its essential functions in maize while no longer supporting viral genome translation. When this truncated eIF4E is the sole active eIF4E in maize, neither MCMV nor SCMV can establish infection. Using gene editing, we successfully introduced MLN resistance from Mini Maize into elite SSA maize varieties. Greenhouse evaluations demonstrated that the edited SSA lines exhibited complete resistance to MLN without compromising yield. This advancement represents a significant step toward safeguarding the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in Africa.