Study: More evidence shows Irish potato famine-causing pathogen originated in South America

Research from North Carolina State University provides further evidence that the pathogen that caused the Irish potato famine in the 1840s likely originated in the Andes region of South America.

Using a robust data set, NC State plant pathologist Jean Ristaino and colleagues Mike Martin from the University of California, Berkeley and Tom Gilbert from the University of Copenhagen used whole genome DNA samples to study various strains of Phytophthora infestans, the pathogen responsible for the Irish potato famine and a major cause of late-blight disease on potato and tomato plants around the world.

Read more in the NC State University news release.