BASIC PLANT PATHOLOGY Topics What is plant pathology

1. BASIC PLANT PATHOLOGY • Topics • What is plant pathology • Definition of disease • Abiotic, biotic and decline diseases • Signs, symptoms and patterns • Mechanisms of disease action • The disease triangle, square and tetrahedron • Classification of organisms • 8. Organisms causing biological diseases • 9. Pathogen/insect relationships

3. 1. What is plant pathology – the study of the organisms and environmental factors that cause diseases in plants, mechanisms by which they cause disease, and methods of managing diseases and reducing damage. 2. Definition of disease - sustained physiological and structural damage to plant tissues caused by biological and non-biological agents ending sometimes in plant death.

4. YOU TREE Skin diseases Foliagediseases Cankers Ozone Heart rot Vascular system diseases – Dutch Elm disease Athlete’s foot fungus Root diseases

5. 3. Biotic, abiotic and decline diseases Biological – fungi, bacteria, etc. non-biological (abiotic) decline (combination – distinct causes may be unknown).

6. Non-biological agents - excesses of temperature and moisture, nutrient deficiencies or excesses, air pollution, etc.

7. 4. Signs, Symptoms and Patterns a. Signs - indications of presence of disease causing organism – e.g., fruiting body or mycelium of fungi b. Symptoms - change in host - exudations, resinosis, necrosis (death of tissue or tree), hypotrophy (dwarfing), hypertrophy (overgrowths - galls, witches brooms). c. Patterns – random – biotic agents - systematic - abiotic

9. Tar spot on maple leaf caused by a fungus- Random pattern

10. Iron deficiency – abiotic – systematic pattern

11. How do we establish that fungi caused the observed disease • Rules of proof “Koch's postulates” • Establish constant association of organism and disease symptoms. • Isolate organism and grow in pure culture. • Inoculate healthy plant and produce disease symptoms • Re-isolate organism.

12. Mechanisms of disease action • Production of enzymes (pectinase, cellulase) • Toxins • Hormones (giberellin) • Physically plugging conducting tissues • Nutrient competition

13. 6. The disease triangle - plant, pathogen, and environment

15. 7. Classification of organisms

16. DOMAINS AND KINGDOMS

17. Tree of Life

18. Classification of fungi(Fusarium solani – important plant pathogen) Domain- Eukarya Eurarya Kingdom- Fungi Fungi Phylum- ----mycota Ascomycota Class- ----mycetes Euascomycetes Subclass- ----tidae Pyrenomycitdae Order- ----ales Hypocreales Family- ----aceae Hypocreaceae Genus Fusarium Species solani Forma speciales f. sp. gladioli Race 1

19. Classification of insects(Asian long-horned beetle) Domain- Eurarya Kingdom- Animalia Phylum- Arthropoda Class- Insecta Subclass Pterygota Division Endopterygota Order- Coleoptera Suborder Polyphaga Superfamily Chrysomeloidea Family Cerambycidae Subfamily Lamiinae Tribe Monochamini Genus Anaplophora Species glabripennis 1

20. 8. Organisms causing biological disease • Fungi and fungus-like organisms • Viruses, viroids, and prions • Bacteria • Phytoplasmas • Nematodes • Parasitic plants • Protozoans

21. and fungus-like organisms

23. Fungi cause the greatest problems on woody plants because they have enzymes to break down cellulose and lignin. Bacteria and viruses more of a problem on soft tissued plants.

24. Perhaps a million species of fungi, but only 100,00 are known. 10,000 are plant pathogens

25. Phylum Role Fungus-like organism Oomycota Damping off, feeder (fine) root diseases True fungi Zygomycota Saprophyte, endomycorrhizal fungi, few pathogens (storage molds) Ascomycota Saprophyte, ectomycorrhizal fungi, (Deuteromycota) foliage diseases, cankers, vascular wilts, fine root diseases, powdery mildews, stain fungi Basidiomycota Saprophytes, ectomycorrhizal fungi, stem and branch decays, structural root diseases, rusts

26. FEATURES OF FUNGI AND FUNGAL-LIKE ORGANISMS Phylum Features Hyphae Cell walls Spores Sexual Asexual Oomycota no septa glucans/cellulose Oospores zoospores (fungal-like) TRUE FUNGI Zygomycota no septa glucans/chitin Zygospores sporangiospores Ascomycota septa glucans/mannans Ascospores conidia Deuteromycota septa glucans/mannans None conidia Basidiomycota septa glucans/mannans Basidiospores conidia, (with (rarely) clamps)

27. Features of fungi The vegetative body of fungi is the mycelium (made up of thread-like hyphae – with and without septa) which grow through or on substrates. Fungi disperse widely by spores which can be either asexual or sexual. The most commonly produced spores are asexual conidia or conidiopsores. Other asexual spores are sporangiospores. Sexual spores include zygospores, ascospores and basidiospores; they are produced in fruiting bodies. Spores can be airborne, spread by rain splash or water or by insects, other animals and humans. Oomycota were once included in the Fungi but are now considered to be fungal-like organisms. Oomycota have asexual spores (zoospores) and sexual spores (Oospores). Many fungi have resting stages - chlamydospores or sclerotia

30. Nectria perithecia Peziza apothecia Ascomycota

32. Nectria Canker – Ascomycota

33. Ascomycete Fungus- Tar spot on maple leaf

34. Deuteromycete fungus – Penicillium conidia

35. Basidiomycete hyphae showing clamp connections. Also associated yeast cells and bacteria Basidiomycete hyphae decaying wood cells – clamp connections and Ca oxalate crystals

36. Basidiomycete fungus – Armillaria mushroom

37. Basidiomycete fungus – conk or fruiting body

38. White Pine Blister Rust – Basidiomycota

39. OOMYCOTA LIFE CYCLE

40. Other Pathogens • Viruses, viroids, and prions • Bacteria • Phytoplasmas • Nematodes • Parasitic plants • Protozoans

41. Viruses, viroids, and prions • Viruses – protein coat and nucleic acid • Viroid – low MW RNA • Prion – infectious protein molecule

42. Viruses and viroids • Needs a vector • Insects • Nematodes • Grafting or vegetative propagation • Can move through plant in phloem or xylem, or stay localized in foliage • Can become part of plant genome

43. Symptoms • Foliage streaking, spotting, mottling • Brooms or rosettes • Growth reduction • No symptoms

44. Camelia mosaic virus

45. Bacteria • 1-celled prokaryotes with a cell wall • Rods (bacilli), spirals, or spherical (cocci) • Easily exchange genetic material on plasmids

46. Symptoms • Bacteria cause disease by enzymes that digest cell walls, toxins, or tumors • Typical symptoms are: • Water soaking • Wetwood • Shoot blight • Bleeding cankers • Galls

47. Bacterial Wetwood • Very common on elms and poplars • Caused by anaerobic bacteria in the xylem following wounding and wound closure • May prevent decay fungi from colonizing

48. Crown Gall • Caused by Agrobacterium tumifaciens, a soil bacterium • Usually occurs at the soil line, but sometimes on aerial parts • Requires wounding for infection • Galls interfere with nutrient and water flow • Used in genetic engineering – can insert DNA into plant genome

49. Elm bacterial gall

50. Important genera of bacteria Causing plant diseases Pseudomonas Xanthomonas Agrobacterium Bacillus Clostridium Streptomyces Bacterial leaf spot