BRAZILIAN scientists have cracked the genetic code of a parasite that is menacing California鈥檚 vineyards. The team says it is the first time the US has asked a developing country to sequence the genome of an organism.
The bacterium, Xylella fastidiosa, causes Pierce鈥檚 disease in a range of crops including grapes, almonds and coffee, killing plants from California to Argentina. The sequencing project was led by Marie-Anne Van Sluys at the University of Sao Paulo (Journal of Bacteriology, vol 185, p 1018).
Two years ago the Brazilian scientists sequenced another strain of Xylella which causes a similar disease in citrus groves.
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