Oomycetes, or water moulds, are fungal-like organisms phylogenetically related to algae. They cause devastating diseases in both plants and animals. Here, we describe seven oomycete species that are emerging or re-emerging threats to agriculture, horticulture, aquaculture and natural ecosystems. They include the plant pathogens Phytophthora infestans, Phytophthora palmivora, Phytophthora ramoru...

Frequent and devastating epidemics of parasites are one of the major issues encountered by modern agriculture. To manage the impact of pathogens, resistant plant varieties have been selected. However, resistances are overcome by parasites requiring the use of pesticides and causing new economical and food safety issues. A promising strategy to maintain the epidemic at a low level and hamper pat...

The genus Diaporthe encompasses important plant pathogens, endophytes, and saprobes that are widely distributed in tropical temperate regions. An accurate detection identification of pathogens not only allows correct disease diagnosis but also increases the accuracy taxonomic ambiguities for fungal-plant interactions purposes. Multi-omics approaches applied to this may represent valuable tools ...

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play a pivotal role in regulating gene expression during plant development. Although a substantial fraction of plant miRNAs has proven responsive to pathogen infection, their role in disease resistance remains largely unknown, especially during fungal infections. In this study, we screened Arabidopsis thaliana lines in which miRNA activity has been reduced using artificial mi...

To defend themselves against fungal pathogens, plants produce numerous antifungal proteins and peptides, including defensins, some of which have been proposed to interact with fungal cell surface glycosphingolipid components. Although not known as a phytopathogen, the filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa possesses numerous genes similar to those required for plant pathogenesis identified in fun...

Charles E. Mitchell Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St Paul, MN 55108, USA Correspondence and present address: C. E. Mitchell, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA E-mail: [email protected] Abstract Current theories of trophic regulation of ecosystem net primary production and plant biomass incorporate...

INTRODUCTION Host-microbe interactions have traditionally been viewed primarily from the perspective of pathogenesis and disease. The principal assumption is that a susceptible host will support microbial growth inside host tissues, leading eventually to the development of symptoms and disease. Inversely, non-susceptible (resistant) hosts will block pathogen infection and the expression of dise...

ABSTRACT In this study, a simple generic infection model was developed for predicting infection periods by fungal foliar pathogens. The model is designed primarily for use in forecasting pathogens that do not have extensive epidemiological data. Most existing infection models require a background epidemiological data set, usually including laboratory estimates of infection at multiple temperatu...

Postharvest diseases cause losses in a wide variety of crops around the world. Irradiation, a useful nonchemical approach, has been used as an alternative treatment for fungicide to control plant fungal pathogens. For a preliminary study, ionizing radiations (gamma, X-ray, or e-beam irradiation) were evaluated for their antifungal activity against Botrytis cinerea, Penicillium expansum, and Rhi...

The closely related smut fungi Ustilago maydis, U. hordei, and Sporisorium reilianum f. sp. zeae are facultatively biotrophic basidiomycetes that occur ubiquitously. Teliospores germinate to produce sporidia of different mating type that grow saprophytically and multiply mitotically by budding [1]. For mass proliferation and sexual genetic exchange, successful colonization of economically impor...