Welcome to PhytoPath
PhytoPath is a new bioinformatics resource that integrates genome-scale data from important plant pathogen species with literature-curated information about the phenotypes of host infection. Using the Ensembl Genomes browser, it provides access to complete genome assembly and gene models of priority crop and model-fungal and oomycete phytopathogens. PhytoPath also links genes to disease progression using data from the curated PHI-base resource.
Last added genomes
The take-all fungus, Gaeumannomyces graminis (ascomycota), is a major root-rot pathogen of cereals and grasses. All varieties of wheat and barley are susceptible. It is an important disease in winter wheat particularly, and is favoured by conditions of intensive production and monoculture. It survives in the soil on infected residues of one crop, then invades the roots of the following crop, progressively destroying the root system. In exceptional cases it can kill the whole crop; hence the name "take-all".
Magnaporthe oryzae (anamorph: Pyricularia grisea) also known as rice blast fungus is an important plant pathogen isolated from rice and a variety of other rice field weeds. It affects all growth stages of the plant with severe damage during the seedling stage. This fungi generates spores that can easily be dispersed by wind and splashing rain. The spores can spend the Winter in rice grains and rice stubble and can infect new crops the following year. Infection is more likely over long periods of rain or high humidity. There are known strains of rice resistant to this disease that may be helpful for it control. Magnaporthe oryzae is the most important rice pathogen worldwide known to occur in 85 countries. Every year, the losses in crops due to rice blast could feed 60 million people.
This release
The current release of PhytoPath is built from the thirteenth release (Mar 2012) of Ensembl Genomes and version 3.3 of PHI-base and was released on March 2012. For all species, available data includes genome sequence and gene models, functional annotation, and protein-based comparative analysis with other fungal/oomycete species (provided by Ensembl Genomes), together with expertly curated molecular and biological information on genes proven to affect the outcome of pathogen-host interactions (provided by PHI-base). In addition, the following specific data sets are also available:
- RNA-Seq alignments for Puccinia Triticina
- Variation data for Gibberella zeae
- EST aligments for all the species except Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici and Phytophthora ramorum
- DNA alignments in the Phytophthora group and for the Hypocreales order.
The last Ensembl Genomes release includes three new plant pathogens: Magnaporthe oryzae, Magnaporthe poae and Gaeumannomyces graminis.
Featured Gene
Saponin detoxification enzymes from pathogenic fungi are involved in the infection process of their host plants. Fusarium oxysporum f. sp lycopersici, a tomato pathogen, produces the tomatinase enzyme Tom1, which degrades alpha-tomatine to less toxic derivates. A curated interaction for Tom1 in Septoria lycopercisi is described on PHI-base.
