Population genetics and phylogeny of the plant pathogenic protozoan Spongospora Subterranea f. sp. Subterranea (PT08032)

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What was it all about?

This project’s purpose was the first thorough population genetic analysis of an economically important, plant pathogenic plasmodiophorid. Spongospora subterranea f.sp. subterranea (Sss) was an obligate biotrophic parasite, which caused powdery scab of potato. Priot to this project, there was no completely effective control method for the disease and breeding of resistant host plants played a major role in managing powdery scab. For resistance screening during the breeding process, knowledge of the present pathogen strains and their genetic variability was necessary. Before the beginning of this project, very little was known about the genetic variability of Sss. Goals of the project were:

1. Determine genetic variability and structure of (Sss) and expansion of basic biological and plant pathological knowledge to provide a basis for effective and sustainable management of powdery scab of potato.
2. Obtain insights into the genetic variability, development and optimization of genetic markers, and application of these markers to Sss populations obtained from close and widely separate geographical locations from all continents.
3. Establish different scales of genetic relationship between different populations.
4. Fundamental knowledge of the population biology of Sss as a basis for understanding its evolutionary potential, which was crucial for risk assessment and managing strategies.