Mw. Rays H.Y. Jiang, MSc: Footprints of evolution: Genome study of the Irish famine pathogen

Phytophthora literally means ‘plant destroyer’. Phytophthora species are destructive plant pathogens causing severe damage in agriculture, forestry and natural habitats. The historical ‘Irish potato Famine’ in 1845 was caused by Phytophthora infestans. To promote infection, Phytophthora secretes a variety of molecules called effectors. Effectors are instrumental for successful infection and colonization of the host but when the host recognizes the effectors, defense responses are activated and infection is arrested. This thesis describes the characterization of the total effector gene reservoirs from two Phytophthora genomes, and evolutionary patterns of these effector genes. The results demonstrate that comparative genomics is a powerful tool to discover effector genes. The on-going P. infestans genome sequencing project will provide new resources for fundamental and applied research, and with the blueprint of P. infestans in hand, late bight research will gain momentum.