The Irish potato famine pathogen Phytophthora infestans originated in central Mexico rather than the Andes.

ABSTRACT: Phytophthora infestans is a destructive plant pathogen best known for causing the disease that triggered the Irish potato famine and remains the most costly potato pathogen to manage worldwide. Identification of P. infestan's elusive center of origin is critical to understanding the mechanisms of repeated global emergence of this pathogen. There are two competing theories, placing the origin in either South America or in central Mexico, both of which are centers of diversity of Solanum host plants. To test these competing hypotheses, we conducted detailed phylogeographic and approximate Bayesian computation analyses, which are suitable approaches to unraveling complex demographic histories. Our analyses used microsatellite markers and sequences of four nuclear genes sampled from population

SUBMITTER: Goss EM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4066499 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature