Skip to content Skip to navigation
University of Warwick
  • Study
  • |
  • Research
  • |
  • Business
  • |
  • Alumni
  • |
  • News
  • |
  • About

University of Warwick
Publications service & WRAP

Highlight your research

  • WRAP
    • Home
    • Search WRAP
    • Browse by Warwick Author
    • Browse WRAP by Year
    • Browse WRAP by Subject
    • Browse WRAP by Department
    • Browse WRAP by Funder
    • Browse Theses by Department
  • Publications Service
    • Home
    • Search Publications Service
    • Browse by Warwick Author
    • Browse Publications service by Year
    • Browse Publications service by Subject
    • Browse Publications service by Department
    • Browse Publications service by Funder
  • Help & Advice
University of Warwick

The Library

  • Login
  • Admin

Genome sequence and analysis of the Irish potato famine pathogen Phytophthora infestans

Tools
- Tools
+ Tools

Haas, Brian J., Kamoun, Sophien, Zody, Michael C., Jiang, Rays H. Y., Handsaker, Robert E., Cano, Liliana M., Grabherr, Manfred, Kodira, Chinnappa D., Raffaele, Sylvain, Torto-Alalibo, Trudy et al.
(2009) Genome sequence and analysis of the Irish potato famine pathogen Phytophthora infestans. Nature, Volume 461 (Number 7262). pp. 393-398. doi:10.1038/nature08358

[img]
Preview
PDF
WRAP_Jones_nature08358.pdf - Published Version - Requires a PDF viewer.
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike.

Download (1314Kb) | Preview
Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature08358

Request Changes to record.

Abstract

Phytophthora infestans is the most destructive pathogen of potato and a model organism for the oomycetes, a distinct lineage of fungus-like eukaryotes that are related to organisms such as brown algae and diatoms. As the agent of the Irish potato famine in the mid-nineteenth century, P. infestans has had a tremendous effect on human history, resulting in famine and population displacement1. To this day, it affects world agriculture by causing the most destructive disease of potato, the fourth largest food crop and a critical alternative to the major cereal crops for feeding the world's population1. Current annual worldwide potato crop losses due to late blight are conservatively estimated at $6.7 billion2. Management of this devastating pathogen is challenged by its remarkable speed of adaptation to control strategies such as genetically resistant cultivars3, 4. Here we report the sequence of the P. infestans genome, which at approx240 megabases (Mb) is by far the largest and most complex genome sequenced so far in the chromalveolates. Its expansion results from a proliferation of repetitive DNA accounting for approx74% of the genome. Comparison with two other Phytophthora genomes showed rapid turnover and extensive expansion of specific families of secreted disease effector proteins, including many genes that are induced during infection or are predicted to have activities that alter host physiology. These fast-evolving effector genes are localized to highly dynamic and expanded regions of the P. infestans genome. This probably plays a crucial part in the rapid adaptability of the pathogen to host plants and underpins its evolutionary potential.

Item Type: Journal Item
Subjects: Q Science > QR Microbiology
Divisions: Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Science > Life Sciences (2010- )
Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Research Centres > Warwick Systems Biology Centre
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): Phytophthora infestans -- Genome mapping
Journal or Publication Title: Nature
Publisher: Nature Publishing
ISSN: 0028-0836
Official Date: 17 September 2009
Dates:
DateEvent
17 September 2009Published
9 September 2009Available
31 July 2009Accepted
23 April 2009Submitted
Volume: Volume 461
Number: Number 7262
Page Range: pp. 393-398
DOI: 10.1038/nature08358
Status: Peer Reviewed
Publication Status: Published
Access rights to Published version: Open Access
Funder: United States. Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES), National Science Foundation (U.S.) (NSF), Gatsby Charitable Foundation (GCF)
Grant number: 2004-35600-15024 (CSREES), 2006-35600-16623 (CSREES), EF-0333274 (NSF), EF-0523670 (NSF)

Data sourced from Thomson Reuters' Web of Knowledge

Request changes or add full text files to a record

Repository staff actions (login required)

View Item View Item

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

View more statistics

twitter

Email us: wrap@warwick.ac.uk
Contact Details
About Us