Good and Bad News About Fighting Potato Blight
June 4, 2010| |
Researchers from the Netherlands have found many resistance genes in wild potatoes and cultivars which can protect the potato against the pathogen phytophthora. "In total, we have now isolated 24 R-genes'", says Evert Jacobsen of the University of Wageningen, Netherlands. "Among these are genes of different potato species which look different, but are in fact based on the same resistance gene. If this duplication is removed, you will end up with eight to nine different clusters with resistance genes.'"
In a press release, Wageningen University reports that the researchers also found several related avirulence genes (Avr genes) in Phytophthora infestans. These Avr genes produce substances which sets off an immune reaction in the potato and prevents the pathogen from attacking.
The irony is that while stocks of genetic material for potato with sustainable resistance against the pathogen are available, researchers are not allowed to conduct any field trials.
Visit http://www.wur.nl/UK/newsagenda/news/Better_armed_to_fight_potato_blight.htm for the complete story.
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