The fungus that causes coffee wilt disease repeatedly borrows segments of DNA from a related fungal pathogen, contributing to successive outbreaks of the disease. Lily Peck of Imperial College London, UK, reported the brand new findings in a study published Dec. 5 within the Open Access Journal.
Over the past century, outbreaks of coffee wilt disease, attributable to a fungal pathogen, have severely affected coffee production in sub-Saharan Africa. Despite its discovery in 1927, little is thought concerning the pathogen's genetics and evolution, and this understanding is critical to managing future outbreaks.
In the brand new study, researchers compared the genomes of 13 historical strains and the prevalence of multiple diseases over six many years to find out how the pathogen has evolved and adapted to its host plants. They found that it consisted of not less than 4 distinct lineages: one specialized for living on Arabica coffee plants, one adapted to Robusta coffee plants and two historical lineages that affected multiple coffee varieties. The researchers also found evidence that these strains had repeatedly acquired segments of DNA from one other fungal pathogen, increasing their ability to contaminate coffee plants. These additions of DNA, referred to as horizontal gene transfer, likely contribute to the frequent emergence of coffee wilt disease on the African continent.
Previous studies have shown that similar horizontal gene transfer events contributed to latest outbreaks of other pathogens, including potato blight, some fungal pathogens of wheat and, a fungus that commonly infects immunocompromised individuals. does The researchers concluded that applying genomics techniques to historical strains of the fungus, held in samples and culture collections over the past century, would offer a robust option to further investigate the role of horizontal gene transfer in fungal spread. .
The authors added, “A historical perspective shows the importance of horizontal transfer and large mobile elements in the emergence of new disease types. If we can understand how new disease types evolve, we can help farmers They can provide the knowledge they need to reduce the risk of new diseases emerging in the first place.”
