As humans domesticated plants, they saved certain seeds to plant in the next growing season based on desirable traits. Susceptibility to diseases popped up on this path to domestication, but wild varieties of plants could fight off these pathogens. Today, most cultivated potato varieties are susceptible to soft rot and black leg disease—caused by Pectobacterium species—but struggle to combat the pathogens like their wild ancestor. Specific resistance genes are currently unknown, posing Pectobacterium as a major threat to global potato production and food security.
