Project overview

background

Potatoes all over the world are in danger and this is not the first time in history. In the late 1840s, potato late blight epidemics caused the Great Famine in Ireland, which caused one million people starved to death. This devastating disease is caused by plant pathogenic oomycetes, Phytophthora infestans. Even 150 years later, when potato is widely grown in 135 countries and consumed by 1 billion people, late blight is still causing serious problems, including food insecurity, economic losses, and environmental damage.

Fig 1. Worldwide distribution of potato late blight caused by P.infestans

Potato late blight costs $6.7 billion every year. Although late blight can have little impact on the food supply in some areas, crop loss can still force farmers out of business. To control late blight, fungicide is frequently used, up to once every 3 days. These fungicides have enormous costs financially, at $200 per acre of farmland. Moreover, these chemicals often seep underground or escape to nearby streams and contaminate water sources. Water samples from over the U.S. show that 75% of surface waters and 58% of groundwater wells contain at least one of 33 potato fungicides.

In modern agriculture, the use of fungicide and genetically modified potatoes are inefficient in fighting against potato late blight. Most strains of P. infestans have formed resistance against fungicides used nowadays. P. infestans secretes some enzymes and form high turgor pressure inside its cell to penetrate and colonize in potato cells. P. infestans infects potato leaves and tubers and eventually the plant will die. The 2015 NYMU iGEM team aims to prevent potatoes from being infected by this devastating disease and ensure global food security.