Phys.Org
by University of York
By discovering previously unexplored ways in which crop pathogens break through plant cell walls, the scientists have opened up opportunities for developing effective disease control technologies.
The new research, published in Science, describes a family of enzymes found in a microorganism called Phytophthora infestans. The enzymes enable crop pathogens to degrade pectin—a key component of plant cell walls—thereby enabling the pathogens to break through the plant's defences to infect the plant.
Led by biologists and chemists from the University of York, the international team of researchers discovered the new class of enzymes that attack pectin called LPMOs. The team also showed that disabling the gene that encodes this enzyme rendered the pathogen incapable of infecting the host.
Read on: https://phys.org/news/2021-08-enzyme-infects-plantspaving-potential-disease.html