Scientists identify genetic mechanism that contributed to Irish Famine
Wednesday, February 6, 2013 - 18:00
in Health & Medicine
When a pathogen attacks a plant, infection usually follows after the plant's immune system is compromised. A team of researchers at the University of California, Riverside focused on Phytophthora, the pathogen that triggered the Irish Famine of the 19th century by infecting potato plants, and deciphered how it succeeded in crippling the plant's immune system.