Infection Models: Novel Potato Blight-like Pathogens in Worms.

Oomycetes are best known as plant pathogens, causing for example potato blight. Other oomycetes are deadly yet less well studied pathogens of animals including humans. Osman and colleagues now present the nematode C. elegans as a new, genetically tractable host model that should enhance our general understanding of oomycete infections.