Comparative transcriptomic responses of European and Japanese larches to infection by Phytophthora ramorum

Phytophthora ramorum severely affects both European larch (EL) and Japanese larch (JL) trees as indicated by high levels of mortality. Field observations show that EL is less severely affected suggest it is less susceptible to P. ramorum than JL; however, controlled inoculations have produced inconsistent or non-statistically significant results. The present study aimed to compare RNA transcript accumulation profiles in EL and JL in response to inoculation with P. ramorum to improve our understanding of their defence responses.