Phytophthora infestans is an oomycete or water mold, a microorganism that causes the serious potato and tomato disease known as late blight or potato blight. Early blight, caused by Alternaria solani, is also often called "potato blight". Late blight was a major culprit in the 1840s European, the 1845 - 1852 Irish, and the 1846 Highland potato famines. The organism can also infect some other members of the Solanaceae. The pathogen is favored by moist, cool environments: sporulation is optimal at 12–18 °C (54–64 °F) in water-saturated or nearly saturated environments, and zoospore production is favored at temperatures below 15 °C (59 °F). Lesion growth rates are typically optimal at a slightly warmer temperature range of 20 to 24 °C.
Fusarium oxysporumpronounce (help·info), an ascomycete fungus, comprises all the species, varieties and forms recognized by Wollenweber and Reinking within an infrageneric grouping called section Elegans. It is part of the family Nectriaceae.
Phytoplasmas are obligate bacterial parasites of plant phloem tissue and of the insect vectors that are involved in their plant-to-plant transmission. Phytoplasmas were discovered in 1967 by Japanese scientists who termed them mycoplasma-like organisms. Since their discovery, phytoplasmas have resisted all attempts at in vitro culture in any cell-free medium; routine cultivation in an artificial medium thus remains a major challenge. Although phytoplasmas have recently been reported to be grown in a specific artificial medium, experimental repetition has yet to be reported. Phytoplasmas are characterized by the lack of a cell wall, a pleiomorphic or filamentous shape, a diameter normally less than 1 μm, and a very small genome.
Caulimoviridae is a family of viruses infecting plants. There are currently 85 species in this family, divided among 10 genera. Viruses belonging to the family Caulimoviridae are termed double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) reverse-transcribing viruses i.e. viruses that contain a reverse transcription stage in their replication cycle. This family contains all plant viruses with a dsDNA genome that have a reverse transcribing phase in their lifecycle.
An appressorium is a specialized cell typical of many fungal plant pathogens that is used to infect host plants. It is a flattened, hyphal "pressing" organ, from which a minute infection peg grows and enters the host, using turgor pressure capable of punching through even Mylar.
Potyvirus is a genus of viruses in the family Potyviridae. Plants serve as natural hosts. There are currently 183 species in this genus including the type species Potato virus Y. The genus is named after the type virus. Potyviruses account for ~30% of the currently known plant viruses. Like begomoviruses, members of this genus may cause significant losses in agricultural, pastoral, horticultural and ornamental crops. More than 200 species of aphids spread potyviruses and most are from the subfamily Aphidinae.
The Pathogen-Host Interaction database (PHI-base) is a biological database that contains curated information on genes experimentally proven to affect the outcome of pathogen-host interactions. The database is maintained by researchers at Rothamsted Research, together with external collaborators since 2005. Since April 2017 PHI-base is part of ELIXIR, the European life-science infrastructure for biological information via its ELIXIR-UK node.
Pseudomonas syringae is a rod-shaped, Gram-negative bacterium with polar flagella. As a plant pathogen, it can infect a wide range of species, and exists as over 50 different pathovars, all of which are available to researchers from international culture collections such as the NCPPB, ICMP, and others.
Pseudomonas tolaasii is a species of Gram-negative soil bacteria that is the causal agent of bacterial blotch on cultivated mushrooms. It is known to produce a toxin, called tolaasin, which is responsible for the brown blotches associated with the disease. It also demonstrates hemolytic activity, causing lysis of erythrocytes. Based on 16S rRNA analysis, P. tolaasii has been placed in the P. fluorescens group.
Odontoglossum ringspot virus (ORSV) is a plant pathogenic virus that belongs to the family Virgaviridae. It is one of the most common viruses affecting cultivated orchids, perhaps second only to the Cymbidium mosaic virus. It causes spots on leaves and colored streaks on flowers. If a plant is also infected with the Cymbidium mosaic virus, it can lead to a condition called blossom brown necrotic streak.
Prunus necrotic ringspot virus (PNRSV) is a plant pathogenic virus causing ring spot diseases affecting species of the genus Prunus, as well as other species such as rose and hops. PNRSV is found worldwide due to easy transmission through plant propagation methods and infected seed. The virus is in the family Bromoviridae and genus Ilarvirus. Synonyms of PNRSV include European plum line pattern virus, hop B virus, hop C virus, plum line pattern virus, sour cherry necrotic ringspot virus, and peach ringspot virus.
Leifsonia xyli subsp. xyli is the bacterium that causes ratoon stunting disease, a major worldwide disease of sugarcane. It is Gram positive and grows slowly in the laboratory.
Plant disease resistance protects plants from pathogens in two ways: by pre-formed structures and chemicals, and by infection-induced responses of the immune system. Relative to a susceptible plant, disease resistance is the reduction of pathogen growth on or in the plant, while the term disease tolerance describes plants that exhibit little disease damage despite substantial pathogen levels. Disease outcome is determined by the three-way interaction of the pathogen, the plant and the environmental conditions.
Alphasatellites are single stranded satellite DNA that are dependent on a virus for transmission. The genome is a single circular single strand DNA molecule. The first alphasatellites were described in 1999 and were associated with cotton leaf curl disease and Ageratum yellow vein disease. As begomoviruses are being characterised at the molecular level an increasing number of alphasatellites are being described.
PhytoPath is a joint scientific project between the European Bioinformatics Institute and Rothamsted Research. The project aims to enable the exploitation of the growing body of “-omics” data being generated for phytopathogens, their plant hosts and related model species. Gene mutant phenotypic information is directly displayed in genome browsers.
Pseudomonas protegens are widespread Gram-negative, plant-protecting bacteria. Some of the strains of this novel bacterial species previously belonged to P. fluorescens. They were reclassified since they seem to cluster separately from other fluorescent Pseudomonas species. P. protegens is phylogenetically related to the Pseudomonas species complexes P. fluorescens, P. chlororaphis, and P. syringae. The bacterial species characteristically produces the antimicrobial compounds pyoluteorin and 2,4-diacetylphloroglucinol (DAPG) which are active against various plant pathogens.
Allorhizobium vitis is a plant pathogen that infects grapevines. The species is best known for causing a tumor known as crown gall disease. One of the virulent strains, A. vitis S4, is responsible both for crown gall on grapevines and for inducing a hypersensitive response in other plant species. Grapevines that have been affected by crown gall disease produce fewer grapes than unaffected plants. Though not all strains of A. vitis are tumorigenic, most strains can damage plant hosts.
Soybean vein necrosis orthotospovirus is a plant pathogenic virus of soybeans. SVNV is a relatively new virus, which was discovered in Tennessee in 2008 and has recently been found in many US states from the Southeast and East coast to some western states including CA. This pathogen initially causes intraveinal chlorosis (yellowing) in leaves. This chlorosis then spreads throughout the leaf and eventually these chlorotic areas can become necrotic. It is a member of the order Bunyavirales, family Tospoviridae and genus Orthotospovirus, which is the only genus within this virus family that infects plants. Like other members of Bunyavirales, this virus is enveloped and has a negative sense single-stranded RNA (−ssRNA) genome composed of three genomic segments. It encodes proteins on the M and S segments in an ambisense manner.
Noel Thomas Keen was an American plant physiologist. He spent his career teaching at University of California, Riverside (UCR). His research focused on the varied ability of cultivars to detect and resist pathogens.
Venturia effusa is a sexual species in the fungal genus Venturia. Venturia effusa was first described in 1885.
