Ousmane Koita

The paper traces the evolutionary history of Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae in Africa, showing its adaptation to African rice and how the introduction of Asian rice shaped its population structure.

The paper compares P. oryzae populations from wild and cultivated rice in Mali, finding genetic differentiation and limited cross-infectivity, suggesting wild rice is not a major source of blast inoculum for cultivated rice.