The genus Pythium was erected by Pringsheim in 1858 and placed in the family Saprolegniaceae. By the end of 19th century taxonomic details of the genus had been clarified and many new species had been described. The relationship with other Oomycetes was established and the genus was included in a new family, Pythiaceae, by Schroter in 1897. The fungus Pythium belongs to the subdivision Mastigom...

*Globally, exotic invaders threaten biodiversity and ecosystem function. Studies often report that invading plants are less affected by enemies in their invaded vs home ranges, but few studies have investigated the underlying mechanisms. *Here, we investigated the variation in prevalence, species composition and virulence of soil-borne Pythium pathogens associated with the tree Prunus serotina ...

Transgenic ethylene-insensitive tobacco (Tetr) plants spontaneously develop symptoms of wilting and stem necrosis when grown in nonautoclaved soil. Fusarium oxysporum, F. solani, Thielaviopsis basicola, Rhizopus stolonifer, and two Pythium spp. were isolated from these diseased Tetr plants and demonstrated to be causal agents of the disease symptoms. Pathogenicity of the two Pythium isolates an...

A comparison of oomycete diversity in reed stands ( Phragmites australis ) of Lake Constance, Germany, and maize fields close by provided evidence for the occurrence of natural hybridization between Pythium phragmitis , a newly described reed pathogen, and an as-yet unknown Pythium species closely related to P. phragmitis and P. arrhenomanes . Internal transcribed spacer and β -tubulin sequence...

AIMS Four well-described strains of Pseudomonas fluorescens were assessed for their effect on pea growth and their antagonistic activity against large Pythium ultimum inocula. METHODS AND RESULTS The effect of Pseudomonas strains on the indigenous soil microflora, soil enzyme activities and plant growth in the presence and absence of Pythium was assessed. Pythium inoculation reduced the shoot...

The kingdom Stramenopile includes diatoms, brown algae, and oomycetes. Plant pathogenic oomycetes, including Phytophthora, Pythium and downy mildew species, cause devastating diseases on a wide range of host species and have a significant impact on agriculture. Here, we report comparative analyses on the genomes of thirteen straminipilous species, including eleven plant pathogenic oomycetes, to...

Stand problems consistently cause significant production losses and management problems in Arkansas rice fields. Previous research, funded by the Rice Research and Promotion Board, identified the role of environmental factors and soilborne plant pathogens in limiting rice stand establishment, and had the goal of determining the conditions where soilborne pathogens, especially Pythium species, p...

A DNA array containing 172 oligonucleotides complementary to specific diagnostic regions of internal transcribed spacers (ITS) of more than 100 species was developed for identification and detection of Pythium species. All of the species studied, with the exception of Pythium ostracodes, exhibited a positive hybridization reaction with at least one corresponding species-specific oligonucleotide...

The author investigated aquatic fungi developing on the seeds of some plants in various types of water bodies of Podlasie Province. The bait method was used to isolate the fungi. Seventy-four aquatic fungal species were found on seeds of three species of plants: Cannabis sativa hemp-seeds 59, Fagopyrum esculentum buckwheat-seeds 55 and on Vicia sativa vetch-seeds 44 in water of four various bod...

Damping-off diseases incited by different species of Pythium are a persistent problem worldwide, often resulting in reduced yields and occasionally resulting in major crop damage. There have been increasing restrictions on the use of chemical fungicides, and the development of disease-suppressive biocontrol agents has become a major goal of horticulture crops. An experiment was conducted with t...