Differential gene expression in Phytophthora infestans during pathogenesis on potato

Abstract

In 1843, 150 years ago, the potato late blight disease, caused by the fungus Phytophthora infestans (Mont.) de Bary, showed up in the northeastern part of the USA. Two years later, the late blight epidemic devastated potato crops throughout northwestern Europe. The tremendous losses of the main source of food for millions of people led to a tragic famine in Ireland, which not only caused the death of thousands of people but also resulted in the emigration of 1.5 million people from Ireland to the USA. The disastrous effect of plant diseases on human food supply greatly stimulated research on plant diseases. In 1861, after a long lasting controversy on the cause of the potato late blight epidemic, de Bary proved experimentally that a fungus was responsible for the disease and named it Phytophthora infestans in 1876. In the past decades, various aspects of the potato-P. infestans interaction have been studied extensively. Unfortunately, this has not yet solved the problem of late blight in potato.