Phytophthora root rot of avocado, a soilborne disease caused by Phytophthora cinnamomi Rands, continues to be devastating to the cultivation of avocados despite more than 70 years of research on control methods. Phytophthora root rot has been estimated to be present in two-thirds of the avocado groves in California, causing losses of almost 30% of the total value of the crop (5). P. cinnamomi m...

A fundamental goal in evolutionary biology is to understand how various evolutionary factors interact to affect the population structure of diverse species, especially those of ecological and/or agricultural importance such as wild soybean (Glycine soja). G. soja, from which domesticated soybeans (Glycine max) were derived, is widely distributed throughout diverse habitats in East Asia (Russia,...

Phytophthora cactorum is a broad host range phytopathogenic oomycete. P. cactorum strain LV007 was isolated from a diseased European Beech (Fagus sylvatica) in Malmö, Sweden in 2016. The draft genome of P. cactorum strain LV007 is 67.81 Mb. It contains 15,567 contigs and 21,876 predicted protein-coding genes. As reported for other phytopathogenic Phytophthora species, cytoplasmic effector prote...

Evolution algebra theory is used to study non-Mendelian inheritance, particularly organelle heredity and population genetics of Phytophthora infectans. We not only can explain a puzzling feature of establishment of homoplasmy from heteroplasmic cell population and the coexistence of mitochondrial triplasmy, but also can predict all mechanisms to form the homoplasmy of cell populations, which ar...

The first natural hybrids in the genus Phytophthora were described in 1998, and they were the result of hybridization between P. nicotianae and P. cactorum. They were described formally as Phytophthora × pelgrandis in 2009. In 2007 a second type of P. cactorum hybrid species was described, generated by hybridization between P. hedraiandra and P. cactorum; it is described formally here as P. × s...

Accelerated gene evolution is a hallmark of pathogen adaptation following a host jump. Here, we describe the biochemical basis of adaptation and specialization of a plant pathogen effector after its colonization of a new host. Orthologous protease inhibitor effectors from the Irish potato famine pathogen, Phytophthora infestans, and its sister species, Phytophthora mirabilis, which is responsib...

Natural populations across a species range demonstrate population structure owing to neutral processes such as localized origins of mutations and migration limitations. Selection also acts on a subset of loci, contributing to local adaptation. An understanding of the genetic basis of adaptation to local environmental conditions is a fundamental goal in basic biological research. When applied to...

Treena I. Burgess, Centre for Phytophthora Science and Management, School of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia; Janet L. Webster and Juanita A. Ciampini, Department of Environment and Conservation, Science Division, Locked Bag 104, Bentley D.C., WA 6983, Australia; Diane White and Giles E. StJ. Hardy, Centre for Phytophthora Science and Manag...

Oomycetes, such as Phytophthora spp., establish pathogenic interactions with a diversity of plants, but the molecular mechanisms underlying these diseases remain poorly characterized. However, research on Phytophthora pathosystems has accelerated significantly with ongoing advances in microbial and plant genomics and the resulting resources. A variety of functional analyses are being used to as...