Genome of Phytophthora infestans decoded
Wednesday, September 9, 2009 - 12:28
in Biology & Nature
A large international research team has decoded the genome of Phytophthora infestans, the notorious organism that triggered the Irish potato famine in the mid-19th century and also threatens this year's potato and tomato crops. Published in the recent (9 September) online issue of the journal Nature, the study reveals that the organism boasts an unusually large genome size. It is more than twice that of closely related species and has an extraordinary structure. These features appear to enable the rapid evolution of certain genes, particularly ones involved in plant infection...