Pythium ultimum is a ubiquitous oomycete plant pathogen responsible for a variety of diseases on a broad range of crop and ornamental species. Analysis of the Pythium ultimum genome sequence suggests that not all oomycete plant pathogens contain a similar 'toolkit' for survival and pathogenesis. Pythium ultimum has a distinct effector repertoire compared to Phytophthora spp. The repertoire of metabolic genes within the Pythium ultimum genome reflects its pathogenic lifestyle. It is an opportunistic pathogen of young seedlings and plant roots with little or no cuticle or heavily suberized tissue, consistent with lack of cutinase encoding genes. It is a poor competitor against secondary invaders of damaged plant tissues and soil organisms with better saprobic ability.

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