Defensive Gurus:Living defenses could protect potatoes bom vims, nematode threats

摘要

Helping safeguard the Northwest's valuable potato crop from emerging threats—tiny, parasitic worms and a fungus-like pathogen that spreads a devastating virus—two scientists at Washington State University have launched new research into better plantdefenses based on genes and vaccines.Washington State grows the most potatoes per acre of any state in the U.S., producing nearly $700 million worth of spuds per year. But the Northwest's fourth-most valuable crop is threatened by powdery scab, a disease caused by a fungus-like pathogen that also carries a harmful virus.