Cucurbit downy mildew caused by the oomycete Pseudoperonospora cubensis is economically the most important disease of cucumber ( Cucumis sativus L.) ( Palti and Cohen, 1980 ). Studies on the host range of P. cubensis indicate that ≈20 genera
Worldwide vegetable production valued at over $1 billion each year is threatened by phytophthora blight ( Lamour et al., 2012 ). This devastating disease is caused by P. capsici, a soil-borne oomycete pathogen that can infect a wide variety of
Phytophthora capsici is a soilborne Oomycete with a host range exceeding 50 plant species ( Tian and Babadoost 2004 ). This polycyclic pathogen is responsible for significant plant losses when environmental conditions are favorable ( Erwin and
predominant pathogens are C. ilicicola and Rhizoctonia sp., with water molds ( Phytophthora and Pythium species of the Oomycete class) so far contributing little to plant losses from disease ( Haralson et al. 2021 ). C. ilicicola is spread primarily
not surprising that taro cultivars of Oceania derive from a common, but narrow, genetic base ( Lebot and Aradhya, 1991 ). Taro leaf blight, caused by the oomycete pathogen Phytophthora colocasiae , is a major disease that threatens the sustainability
Downy mildew, caused by the oomycete pathogen Pseudoperonospora cubensis (Berk. & cucumber ( Cucumis sativus L.) ( Palti and Cohen, 1980 ). Other economically important hosts of P. cubensis are melon ( Cucumis melo L.), watermelon [ Citrullus
The oomycete fungus Phytophthora capsici Leon. is known to be a limiting factor of chile pepper (Capsicum spp.) production around the world. The genetics of the resistance is becoming better understood due to the specific nature of the host–pathogen interaction; i.e., all plant organs are subject to infection. This study determined whether stem blight was the same disease syndrome as root rot or foliar blight. Stem cuttings of a segregating F2 population and testcross progeny facilitated the ability to screen for two disease syndromes concurrently. When the three disease syndromes were compared separately, the F2 populations fit a 3R:1S ratio and the testcross progeny fit a 1R:1S ratio. When comparative studies were performed (stem vs. foliar and stem vs. root), the F2 populations fit a 9R/R:3R/S:3S/R:1S/S ratio and the testcross fit a 1R/R:1R/S:1S/R:1S/S ratio. These ratios are consistent of a single gene controlling the resistance of each system. Therefore, Phytophthora stem blight, root rot, and foliar blight are three separate disease syndromes.
Systemic acquired resistance is a broad spectrum inducible defense response that is associated with the expression of a set of genes (SAR genes). Expression of one of these genes (PR-1a from tobacco) in transgenic tobacco confers increased tolerance to two oomycete pathogens.
A direct role for salicylic acid (SA) in signaling SAR has been established in tobacco by analysis of transgenic tobacco expressing salicylate hydroxylase (SAH, an enzyme that inactivates SA by conversion to catechol). Tobacco plants that express SAH are blocked in the accumulation of SA and the development of SAR when responding lo TMV. Furthermore, both Arabidopsis and tobacco expressing SAH have altered pathogen induced lesion morphology, exemplified by larger spreading lesions.
Putative mutants in SAR gene expression were isolated by screening M2 Arabidopsis plants for altered expression of PR-1 and PR-2 or for sensitivity to pathogen infection following INA treatment. The putative mutants all into two major classes,constitutive (cim, constitutive immunity) and non-inducible (nim, non-inducible immunity). Several cim mutants exhibits a disease lesion phenotype in the absence of pathogen.
An apple (Malus domestica cv. Empire on M9/MM111 rootstock) orchard groundcover management systems (GMSs) study has been underway since 1992 in Ithaca, N.Y. Four GMS treatments are applied each year in 2-m wide tree-row strips: Pre-emergence herbicides (Pre-H: diuron + norflurazon + glyphosate); Post-emergence herbicide (Post-H: glyphosate); mowed-sod (Grass); and composted hardwood bark mulch (Mulch) treatment. The soil (silty clay loam) physical and chemical conditions have been monitored continuously. In May and Sept. 2003, we sampled topsoil beneath trees in each GMS and used PCR-DGGE combined with sequencing to characterize soil microbial community composition. Mulch had more culturable soil bacteria than the Pre-H treatment. Soil in Grass plots had the most culturable soil fungi. Soil microbial respiration rates were higher in Mulch than Grass and herbicide GMSs. Surface vegetation in the Grass and Post-H plots strongly influenced soil bacterial community composition. In Principal Component Analyses, Post-H and Grass treatments comprised one variance cluster, and Pre-H and Mulch treatments another. The soil fungal community was less diverse (fewer DGGE bands) than the bacterial community, and was less affected by GMS. Treatments with more surface vegetation (Post-H and Grass) also had more free-living and phytonematodes than Pre-H and Mulch. A total of 47 clones from 12 DGGE bands yielded 31 unique DNA sequences. Of these, 15 were novel sequences with no matches in the GenBank (NCBI) database. Another 10 (27 clones) could be matched with known fungal species at 96-100% identity. The primer pair used, ITS1F/ITS2, amplified a considerable number of Basidiomycetes and Ascomycetes, but there was no amplification for Zygomycetes and Oomycetes.
The oomycete, Phytophthora infestans, is a devastating pathogen of potato worldwide. Several genotypes of P. infestans are able to infect other cultivated and weed species of the family Solanaceae and cause symptoms similar to late blight. Changes in P. infestans populations have stimulated investigations to determine if potato strains from new immigrant populations infect nonpotato hosts more often than those from the older population. Expansion of the effective host range may be one of the mechanisms involved in pathogenic changes in natural populations of P. infestans and to determine its significance, it is necessary to establish if the pathogen strains on nonpotato hosts represent distinct genotypes/populations or are freely exchanging with those on potato. This article reports characterization of P. infestans isolates from four solanaceous hosts (black nightshade, hairy nightshade, petunia, and tomato) growing within and around fields of blighted potatoes in four U.S. locations and one U.K. location and their comparison with isolates collected from adjacent infected potatoes. Isolates were characterized for mitochondrial DNA haplotype, mating type, metalaxyl resistance, allozymes of glucose-6-phosphate isomerase and peptidase, and DNA fingerprint with the RG57 probe. Analysis showed close similarity of the petunia, hairy and black nightshade isolates to potato isolates. However, tomatoes from New Jersey and Pennsylvania, respectively, were infected by two distinct and previously unreported pathogen genotoypes, which had quite different fingerprints from P. infestans isolates recovered from nearby infected potatoes. Potato growers should be aware that both weed and cultivated solanaceous species can be infected with P. infestans and may serve as clandestine reservoirs of inoculum. Because some of these plants do not show conspicuous symptoms, they may escape detection and fail to be either removed or treated and so may play a major role in the introduction and spread of pathogens to new locations.