How a crop-destroying fungus mutated to infect wheat

Genetic analysis traces how pathogen evolved to evade defenses

Wheat fungus

BLASTED FUNGUS  Wheat blast fungus (shown here increasingly close up) is a threat to wheat crops worldwide. Researchers have pieced together how the fungus came to to infect wheat.

Paul Bachi

A wheat strain that let its guard down may have paved the way for a crop-destroying fungus to infect the species.