This Fungus Kills Off Coffee. Scientists Just Woke It Up

The scientists explain how they “woke up” two strains collected in the 1950s from the original outbreak, which affected a slew of coffee varieties, and then two strains each from the more recent fungi that affected Arabica and robusta varieties specifically. They found the newer, variety-specific strains had larger genomes, with genes strikingly similar to those found in fungi that destroys bananas and other crops. While the transfer of genes from the banana-killing fungus to another species hasn’t yet been seen, scientists say coffee and banana plants are often grown next to each other, making it possible the coffee fungus absorbed the hardier genes from its banana-attacking neighbors. The researchers say this new knowledge could help coffee farmers prevent new strains of coffee wilt disease, specifically by planting coffee in a dedicated section separate from other crops or by eliminating plant debris that attracts the related fungus. “Our aim is to replicate this study for many plant pathogens, eventually drawing up a ‘rule book’ of how pathogenicity evolves,” study co-author Timothy Barraclough says in the release…. see more

source: newser.com