The new study also looked at other genes that direct the fungi to make special proteins. Those proteins appear to help the pathogen infect banana leaves.
Despite causing similar banana diseases, the three killer fungi have evolved unique sets of virulence proteins. That suggests they each developed different ways to outsmart the immune system of a banana plant. Another study in the same journal has more details on those proteins in Black Sigatoka.
All told, the new data pinpoint specific molecules at play in the infections that threaten some types of popular bananas. “What sorts of things could we do to manipulate the plant so it becomes resistant [to them]?” asks Dale. That, he says, is “clearly where we need to go.”