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We examined the evolutionary history ofPhytophthora infestansand its close relatives in the 1c clade. We used whole genome sequence data from 69 isolates ofPhytophthoraspecies in the 1c clade and conducted a range of genomic analyses including nucleotide diversity evaluation, maximum likelihood trees, network assessment, time to most recent common ancestor and migration analysis. We consistently identified distinct and later divergence of the two MexicanPhytophthoraspecies,P.mirabilisandP.ipomoeae, fromP.infestansand other 1c clade species.Phytophthora infestansexhibited more recent divergence from other 1c clade species ofPhytophthorafrom South America,P.andinaandP.betacei. Speciation in the 1c clade and evolution ofP.infestansoccurred in the Andes.P.andina–P.betacei–P.infestansformed a species complex with indistinct species boundaries, hybridizations between the species, and short times to common ancestry. Furthermore, the distinction between modern Mexican and South AmericanP.infestansproved less discrete, suggesting gene flow between populations over time. Admixture analysis indicated a complex relationship among these populations, hinting at potential gene flow across these regions. HistoricP.infestans, collected from 1845–1889, were the first to diverge from all otherP.infestanspopulations. Modern South American populations diverged next followed by Mexican populations which showed later ancestry. Both populations were derived from historicP.infestans. Based on the time of divergence ofP.infestansfrom its closest relatives,P.andinaandP.betaceiin the Andean region, we consider the Andes to be the center of origin ofP.infestans, with modern globalization contributing to admixture betweenP.infestanspopulations today from Mexico, the Andes and Europe. 

There is growing evidence indicating the need to combine the rehabilitation and regenerative medicine fields to maximize functional recovery after spinal cord injury (SCI), but there are limited methods to synergistically combine the fields. Conductive biomaterials may enable synergistic combination of biomaterials with electric stimula-tion (ES), which may enable direct ES of neurons to enhance axon regeneration and reorganization for better functional recovery; however, there are three major chal-lenges in developing conductive biomaterials: (1) low conductivity of conductive composites, (2) many conductive components are cytotoxic, and (3) many conductive biomaterials are pre-formed scaffolds and are not injectable. Pre-formed, non-injectable scaffolds may hinder clinical translation in a surgical context for the most common contusion-type of SCI. Alternatively, an injectable biomaterial, inspired by lessons from bioinks in the bioprinting field, may be more translational for contusion SCIs. Therefore, in the current study, a conductive hydrogel was developed by incor-porating high aspect ratio citrate-gold nanorods (GNRs) into a hyaluronic acid and gelatin hydrogel. To fabricate nontoxic citrate-GNRs, a robust synthesis for high aspect ratio GNRs was combined with an indirect ligand exchange to exchange a cytotoxic surfactant for nontoxic citrate. For enhanced surgical placement, the hydro-gel precursor solution (i.e., before crosslinking) was paste-like, injectable/bioprintable, and fast-crosslinking (i.e., 4 min). Finally, the crosslinked hydrogel supported the adhesion/viability of seeded rat neural stem cells in vitro. The current study devel-oped and characterized a GNR conductive hydrogel/bioink that provided a refinable and translational platform for future synergistic combination with ES to improve functional recovery after SCI.