Abstract: The present disclosure provides a method of suppressing oomycete infection, such as a Phytophthora infection, or triggering programmed cell death in Solanaceae plants comprising administering at least one modulator, wherein the at least one modulator modulates at least one of the genes listed in Table 1 or variants or homologs thereof. The present disclosure also provides compositions useful in suppressing oomycete infection, such as Phytophthora infection and triggering programmed cell death and screening assays for identifying substances useful in suppressing oomycete infection, such as Phytophthora infection and triggering programmed cell death.