Introduction For a scientist, my title may seem a little sensationalist in tone. This is deliberate to draw attention to my issue. And here’s the issue. About six years ago the previously unknown invasive pathogen P. ramorum sp. nov. was found spreading on trees and shrubs in North America and Europe. Almost simultaneously in the U.K. we found another previously unknown invasive Phytophthora on...

Molecular techniques have been developed for detection and identification of P. ramorum and other Phytophthora species that are based on the mitochondrially encoded sequences. One technique uses a Phytophthora genus specific primer to determine if a Phytophthora species is present, followed by a nested amplification with species-specific primers to determine if the pathogen is P. ramorum or one...

Black pepper is the one of most important export products in Vietnam. As the largest exporter, Vietnam’s pepper commodities account for 58% of total worldwide exporters. However, Vietnam’s pepper production is dealing with disease problems, especially foot rot/quick death infected by Phytophthora capsici. The disease results in serious and rapid spread and infection in Vietnam, with yearly redu...

The central highlands of Mexico are considered to be a center of genetic diversity for both the potato late blight pathogen and for tuber-bearing Solanum spp. Recent work conducted in Mexico and South America sheds new light on the biology and evolution of Phytophthora infestans and other related Phytophthora pathogens. It now appears that Mexican Solanum species, which coevolved with P. infest...

The cry-b sequence, encoding a basic elicitin (cryptogein B) from Phytophthora cryptogea, was co-transformed into Phytophthora infestans. The copy number of the cry-b sequence varied in co-transformants. Nevertheless, in all cases the alien elicitin gene was transcribed, translated and the protein secreted in vitro from such transformants. Moreover, the secreted cryptogein B from P. infestans c...

Tomato agar and soybean agar were found to be comparable to or in some cases better than the popular V8 vegetable juice agar in supporting linear growth of Phytophthora cactorum, Phytophthora capsici, Phytophthora parasitica, Pythium aphanidermatum, and Pythium splendens; sporangium production of P. capsici, P. palmivora, and Pythium splendens; and oospore formation of P. cactorum, P. parasitic...

trichoderma species are among important antagonists of plant pathogenic fungi. the main purpose of this study was to evaluate the biocontrol potential of native trichoderma spp. isolates from sugar beet fields against phytophthora drechsleri and p. cryptogea, the causal agents of phytophthora root rot of sugar beet. during 2007–08, 85 isolates of trichoderma spp. from sugar beet fields in eight...

Water molds of the genus Phytophthora include many plant pathogens responsible for epidemics such as potato blight and sudden oak death, causing global economic damages. Sexual reproduction is of biological importance in Phytophthora and has been believed to be stimulated by unknown endogenous factors named a hormones. We describe here the chemical characterization of a Phytophthora mating horm...

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...

To date the majority of work on the systemic fungicide phosphite (phosphonate) to control Phytophthora diseases has been conducted on horticultural crops. There is a paucity of work on the control of Phytophthora root and collar rots in natural plant communities. This paper gives an overview of studies conducted in Western Australia which examine the potential of using phosphite in plant commun...