Researchers at the Bio-Protection Research Centre in Lincoln, Canterbury, New Zealand has partnered with scientists at Wageningen University in the Netherlands to investigate the genetics of a fungal pathogen responsible for Dothistroma pine needle blight. The disease is a significant detriment in Europe and Canada and also affects New Zealand pine plantations, costing millions of dollars in lost production and control.
The collaborating research teams, headed by New Zealand's Associate Professor Rosie Bradshaw and the Netherlands' Professor Pierre de Wit, disseminated their findings in the high-impact journal PLOS Genetics. Here, they compared the strain of needle blight with a closely-related fungal plant pathogen that affects tomatoes, analysing fungal pathology to assess potential prevention techniques.