Peptide synthesis could stop global potato pathogen once linked to Ireland's Great Famine

Scientists in Sweden have taken an important step toward fighting potato late blight, a plant disease that once triggered a historic famine in Ireland and now threatens to spread globally due to climate change. A new study reports the synthesis of a peptide that specifically attacks Phytophthora infestans (P. infestans) to protect potato and tomato crops—without harm to other plants. The work was carried out by researchers at Stockholm's KTH Royal Institute of Technology, in collaboration with research partners in Italy, India and Australia.