Mirabilis jalapa, the ’four o’clock flower’ that Phytophthora mirabilis has adapted to attack
Scientists have discovered vital clues as to how the pathogen responsible for the Irish potato famine adapted to spread between different plant species. Researchers at Oxford University and The Sainsbury Laboratory, Norwich, looked in unprecedented detail at how Phytophthora infestans , a pathogen that continues to blight potatoes and tomatoes today, evolved to target other plants. The study, published today , is the first to show how pathogens switch from targeting one species to another through changes at the molecular level. Researchers examined the biochemical differences between Phytophthora infestans and sister species Phytophthora mirabilis , a pathogen that split from P. infestans around 1300 years ago to target the Mirabilis jalapa plant, commonly known as the four o'clock flower. They found that each pathogen species secretes specialised substances to shut down the defences of their target hosts. 'Plants have these enzymes called proteases that play a key role in their defence systems,' said Dr Renier van der Hoorn, co-author of the study from Oxford University's Department of Plant Sciences. 'When a plant becomes infected, proteases help plants to attack the invading pathogens and trigger immune responses.
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