Ecological and Economical Impact of Snow Molds

1. Ecological and Economical Impact of Snow Molds By Ken Anderson Winter Ecology, Spring 2009 Mountain Research Station – University of Colorado, Boulder

2. Outline • Plant winter adaptations • Fungal winter adaptations • Fungal adaptation for summers • Impact on agriculture and golf courses • Forest management • Methods of control

3. Plant Strategies for Overwintering • Decreased Respiration, Carbohydrate build up, Increased Cryostability of PM (Gaudet D. 1994)‏ • Cross Adaptation in Winter Rye (Hiilovaara-Teijo M. 1999)‏ • Snowpack: Friend + Foe (McBeath J. 2002)‏

4. Snow Mold Strategies for Winter Activity • AFP production (Hoshino et al. 2004) (Snider et al. 1999)‏ • Attack plants through stomatal openings or directly through epidermis (McBeath J. 2002)‏ • Low temp active enzymes (Schmidt et al. 2008)‏ • Depth of snow creates different microclimates (McBeath J. 2002)‏

5. Snow Mold Strategies for Spring Snow Melt and Summer • Dormancy in the form of Spores: Snow Scard (McBeath J. 2002)‏ • Dormancy in the form of scleortia: Typhula spp. (McBeath J. 2002)‏ • Stay active over summer with limited activity M. Nivale (McBeath J. 2002)‏ • Death of majority of biomass. DIN and DON increase during Spring snow melt (Schmidt et al. 2007)‏

7. Economic Impact • Damage to agriculture Winter cereals (Hsiang et al. 1999)‏ • Damage to Golf courses (A. stolonifera damage) (Wang et al. 2005)‏ • “Treatment of [Typhula spp.] may account for half of the chemical fungicide used on turf in [Canada]” (McBeath J. 2002)‏ • Potential control of C. Canadensis by cottony snow mold (Mallet et al. 2000)‏

8. Strategies for Control • Modifying strain resistance (Guadet D. 1994)‏ • Ensuring proper acclimatization (Guadet D. 1994)‏ • Fungicide less effective at low temperatures (McBeath 2002) • Don't degrade quickly at low temp • Removing snow cover (Hsiang et al. 1999)‏ • Fall fertilization (Hsiang et al. 1999)‏

9. Strategies for Control • Biocontrol against Typhula spp. (Hsiang et al. 1999)‏ • Summer Control • Still potential for airborne inoculation • Fall Control • Expensive but potential for less ecological damage • Winter Control • Requires low temp tolerance

10. Conclusions • Snow Molds have an important ecological impact • These impacts can be harnessed for forest management • There are effective strategies for reducing impact on crops

11. Further Research • Effect of LTB on white spruce seedlings • Further resistant strain development of winter cereals • Further microbial bio-control for fall and winter

12. Questions? Smith J. 1980

13. Bibliography 1. Christopher S, et al. Role of ice nucleation and antifreeze activities in pathogenesis and growth of snow molds Phytopathology [Internet] 1999 December [cited 2009 Feb 28th] Available from: http://apsjournals.apsnect.org 2. Guadet D. Progress towards understand interaction between cold hardiness and snow mold resistance and development of resistant cultivars C. J. Plant Physiology [Internet] 1994 [cited 2009 Feb 28th] Available from: http://www.cps.scp.ca 3. Hiilovaara-Teijo M, et al. Snow-mold-induced apoplastic proteins in winter rye leaves lack antifreeze activity Plant Physiology [Internet] 1999 October [cited 2009 Feb 28th] Available from: http://www.plantphysiol.org 4. Hsiang T, et al. Biology and management of typhula snow molds of turfgrass Plant Disease [Internet] 1999 [cited 2009 Feb 28th] Available from: http://apsjournals.apsnet.org

14. Bibliography 5. Hoshino T, et al. Antifreeze proteins from snow mold fungi C. J. Botany [Internet] 2004 Jan [cited 2009 Feb 28th] Available from: http://article.pubs.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca 6. Lipson D, Scmidt K. Seasonal changes in an alpine soil bacterial community in the colorado rocky mountains Appl. Environ. Microbial [Internet] 2004 Jan [cited 2009 Feb 28th] A vailable from: http://cultur.colorado.edu/~kittel/Lipson&Schmidt04_SeasonalDynNiwotBact_AEM.pdf 7. Mallet K, et al. Effect of cottony snow mold on mortality and biomass of calamagrostis canadensis under controlled-environment conditions Biological Control [Internet] 2000 March [cited 2009 Feb 28th] Available from: http://www.sciencedirect.com 8. McBeath J. Snow mold-plant-antagonist interactions: survival of the fittest under the snow Apsnet Feature [Intenet] 2002 March [cited 2009 Feb 28th] Available from: http://www.apsnet.org

15. Bibliography 9. Schadt C, et al. Seasonal dynamics of previously unknown fungal lineages in tundra Science [Internet]. 2003 September [cited 2009 Feb 28th] Available from: http://culter.colorado.edu/~kittel/Schadt00_SeasonalDynNiwotFungi 10. Schmidt S, et al. Biogeochemical consequences of rapid microbial turnover and seasonal succession in soil Ecology [Internet] 2007 [cited 2009 Feb 28th] Available from: http://www.esajournals.org/ 11. Schmidt S, et al. Phylogeny and ecophysiology of opportunistic “snow molds” from a subalpine forest ecosystem Microb Ecol [Internet]. 2008 April [cited 2009 Feb 28th] Available from: http://culter.colorado.edu/~kittel/schmidt708_SnowMold_MicrobEcol.pdf 12. Smith J. Snow Molds of Winter Cereals: guide for diagnosis, culture, and pathogenicity C. J. Plant Pathology 1980 [cited 2009 Feb 28th] Available from: http://cps-scp.ca

16. Bibliography 13. Wang Z, et al. Genotypic variation for snow mold reaction among creeping bengrass clones Crop Science [Internet] 2005 [cited 2009 Feb 28th] Available from: http://crop.scijournals.org