Hi Reddit, We’re Igor Grigoriev, Steve Goodwin and Gert HJ KEMA, and we recently published an article titled Combating a Global Threat to a Clonal Crop: Banana Black Sigatoka Pathogen Pseudocercospora fijiensis (Synonym Mycosphaerella fijiensis) Genomes Reveal Clues for Disease Control in PLOS Genetics. Gert HJ Kema, Professor of Tropical Phytopathology at Wageningen University, The Netherlands, researches fungal diseases in banana and wheat, with a focus on genetic diversity and mechanisms of pathogenicity of the causal agents. Igor Grigoriev, Head of Fungal Genomics program at the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute and Adjunct Professor of Plant and Microbial Biology at University of California Berkeley, employs genomics tools to explore fungal diversity for energy and environment science and applications. Steve Goodwin, Research Plant Pathologist with the Agricultural Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Adjunct Professor of Plant Pathology at Purdue University, uses genetics, genomics and bioinformatics approaches to analyze host-pathogen interactions between wheat and fungal pathogens and to utilize genetic diversity in hosts and pathogens. The PLOS Genetics article focused on determining the DNA sequence of the fungus and applies it by focusing on two major aspects of current banana production: overall susceptibility of the crop and reduced efficacy of disease control agents (fungicides). The overall susceptibility of the major export Cavendish banana varieties - that essentially form one huge monoculture around the globe - is the underlying problem of the unsustainable banana production. Hence, the only way to manage black Sigatoka is the use of fungicides. However, due to the high application frequencies (between 50-70 times per year) their efficacy continually decreases, which in turn requires more/different control strategies. Our paper unveils the unsustainable status quo by showing the need and possibility for developing new and better varieties with improved disease resistance. This helps growers in the developing world and meets consumer demands for a caring society. To learn more about the featured study, read Gert’s PLOS Blogs post on Biologue. See for another effect of the global banana monoculture the PLOS Pathogens study Worse Comes to Worst: Bananas and Panama Disease—When Plant and Pathogen Clones Meet. Also, don’t forget to follow us on Twitter: DOE Joint Genome Institute and USDA and Wageningen University. Visit us at www.panamadisease.org and/or subscribe to the newsletter. We’ll be back at 1 pm EST (10 am PST, 5 pm UTC) to answer your questions, ask us anything!