Dec. 21, 2008 Scientists are reporting identification of the
cluster of genes responsible for the toxins produced by "gray
mold," a devastating plant disease that kills almost 200
different food and ornamental plants including tomatoes,
strawberries and roses. Their findings could lead to genetically
engineered crops or new fungicides to fight this disease, which
frustrates backyard gardeners and commercial farmers alike, the
researchers say. The study is in the current online issue issue
of ACS Chemical Biology, a monthly journal. David Cane, Isidro
Collado, Muriel Viaud and colleagues note that gray mold is so-
named because it covers infected plants with fuzzy gray spores
that can ultimately kill plants. A fungus named Botrytis cinerea
causes the disease. Studies show that the fungus kills by
producing two main plant toxins, botrydial and botcinic acid.
Conventional fungicides are largely ineffective in destroying
the fungus, which can easily spread to other plants. In the new
study, the scientists describe