A team of UC Davis researchers is working to stop the spread of a new wheat disease recently discovered in California and nine other states. The disease, Karnal Bunt, causes the grain to be discolored and "fishy" smelling. The areas where the disease was found are now under quarantine and the wheat cannot be exported, according to UC Davis agronomist Lee Jackson. "The outbreak of Karnal Bunt in the United States puts at risk the $5 billion U.S. wheat export business because of the number of countries restricting the import of wheat contaminated with Karnal Bunt," he says. Wheat seed planted in California is first tested at UC Davis in the statewide germplasm evaluation program conducted by Jackson to make sure it is free of Karnal Bunt. In a double-headed attack on the disease, researchers in the UC Davis wheat genetics and germplasm development program are attempting to breed strains of wheat that are resistant to the disease.