Researchers have identified a gene that can help fend off a new devastating strain of stem rust, a fungal disease that is now at the door of the Punjab region, the breadbasket of Asia. The discovery could help breeders more quickly develop varieties that can resist the deadly pathogens and halt a worldwide wheat epidemic, according to the study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The new gene could help fend off stem rust, a fungal disease that is spreading through the globe and is getting close to Punjab.