Pathogens attack plants like hackers, so my lab thinks about crop protection like cybersecurity

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(THE CONVERSATION) Plants feed us. Without them we’re goners. Through thousands of years of genetic modification by selective breeding, humans have developed the crops that keep us alive. We have large kernels of grains, plump fruits and nutritious, toxin-free vegetables. These forms would never be found in nature, but were bred by people to keep us healthy and happy.

Unfortunately, microbes find our wonderfully productive food plants just as delicious as we do. These plant pathoge...