Understanding the recent colonization history of a plant pathogenic fungus using population genetic tools and Approximate Bayesian Computation.

ABSTRACT: Understanding the processes by which new diseases are introduced in previously healthy areas is of major interest in elaborating prevention and management policies, as well as in understanding the dynamics of pathogen diversity at large spatial scale. In this study, we aimed to decipher the dispersal processes that have led to the emergence of the plant pathogenic fungus Microcyclus ulei, which is responsible for the South American Leaf Blight (SALB). This fungus has devastated rubber tree plantations across Latin America since the beginning of the twentieth century. As only imprecise historical information is available, the study of population evolutionary history based on population genetics appeared most appropriate. The distribution of genetic diversity in a continental sampling of fou

SUBMITTER: Barres B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3498996 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature