Soybean rust, a rising star in phytopathology

Phakopsora pachyrhizi, an obligate parasite, causes soybean rust, the most devastating foliar disease on soybeans. It is responsible for significant losses of soybean crop in Africa, Asia, Australia and South America, becoming a major threat to world soybean production. Recent findings of this pathogen in the Southeast continental U.S.A. have triggered an increasing interest in the scientific community. Here, we present strategies and preliminary results from the P. pachyrhizi Genome Sequencing Project.