A DUNDEE scientist believes his team has taken a significant step towards eradicating the problem of potato blight after discovering a genetic “signature” specific to proteins present at the disease’s earliest onset.

Dundee University’s Professor Paul Birch, who is based at Scottish Crop Research Institute (SCRI) at Invergowrie, is part of a research group which has successfully decoded the genes of proteins secreted by the blight.

They have found that each protein shares the common RXLR genetic “motif” that weakens the host plant’s natural defences, allowing the disease to infiltrate it and make it susceptible to infection.

He hopes that further research will help with the development of disease-resistant varieties of potatoes.

“What we have seen is an evolutionary arms race between a pathogen and its host and, so far, the pathogen has been winning,” he said.

“We are really excited by the discovery of RXLR.”

It is estimated that the cost of crop losses and chemical control of blight exceeds £3 billion globally each year.

Professor Birch and his colleagues from Aberdeen University and horticultural research centre Warwick HRI receive funding from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council