Selection and use of a mathematical model to evaluate components of resistance to Phytophthora infestans in potato

Five models of general epidemics, spatially homogeneous, were all shown to fit well to disease progress data forPhytophthora infestans on a susceptible potato cultivar. The models were: the logistic equation, the paralogistic or Vanderplank equation, two models from medical epidemiology with similar complexity, and a slightly more complex model with explicit treatment of lesion expansion. The use of the models for analysing the sensitivity of disease progress to changes in resistance components is discussed. Sensitivity analysis of the most complex model, by varying components within their range of genetic variation, indicates lesion expansion and infection efficiency as the components offering the best perspectives for resistance breeding. Improving two components simultaneously reduces disease progress slightly more than additively, but not enough to add other components to the list of breeding objectives. Pitfalls in using models for component sensitivity analysis, in the form of erroneous model initializations, are discussed, including implications for the role of components in the development of natural epidemics and in resistance breeding trials.     

Differential interaction of Phytophthora infestans on tubers of potato cultivars with different levels of blight resistance

Differential interactions in tuber blight attack between potato cultivars and Phytophthora infestans isolates were studied using whole tuber and tuber slice assays. Tuber blight incidence and severity were studied in a whole tuber assay, whilst necrosis and mycelium coverage were evaluated in a tuber slice assay. The overall defence reaction of the potato cultivars tested varied considerably. Cultivars like Kartel and Producent showed resistant reactions, whilst Bintje and, to a lesser extent, Astarte reacted more susceptibly after inoculation with aggressive strains of P. infestans . A highly significant cultivar by year interaction was observed when tuber blight incidence was evaluated in two successive years. Differential responses were revealed by changing ranked order of cultivars after exposure to aggressive isolates of P. infestans . The results show that cultivar by isolate interactions existed for all components of tuber blight resistance studied. The quantitative nature of the observed resistance responses suggests the presence of quantitative trait loci governing resistance to tuber blight. The consequences of differential interactions in relation to the stability of tuber resistance are discussed.     

Stability of resistance to Phytophthora infestans in potato: an international evaluation

Ten institutions in nine countries joined together to test the stability of resistance of 14 potato genotypes to the oomycete pathogen Phytophthora infestans in three separate trials. Seven of the genotypes were tested in one trial involving seven locations, and all 14 were tested in two subsequent trials, each involving eight locations. Stability of resistance was tested with nonparametric tests and with an additive main effects and multiplicative interaction (AMMI) model. Overall, resistance to P. infestans was robust; resistant genotypes were consistently resistant in all locations and trials. The nonparametric analysis indicated that specific genotypes were basically stable across sites for resistance. In trial 3, the Z statistic for overall stability was significant at 0·05%, indicating a significant level of interaction across the trial, but there were no significant interactions for specific genotypes in this trial. The genotype by environment (G × E) effect of the AMMI model was highly significant in both trials, but the mean square of G × E was less than 10% of the genotype effect in each trial. The first two principal components (PCA1 and PCA2) of the AMMI analyses together explained 75 and 80% of the interaction effects in trials 2 and 3, respectively. Based on both nonparametric and AMMI analyses, Ecuador and Argentina were locations of relatively high interaction effects for both trials 2 and 3, although in Ecuador this interaction was not associated with any particular potato genotype. Other locations also had high interaction effects, but these occurred in only one trial. The genotypes Chata Blanca and, to a lesser extent, Torridon were relatively unstable in trials 2 and 3, but in the case of Torridon, resistant, this did not represent a significant loss of resistance.     

Aggressiveness of Phytophthora infestans on detached potato leaflets in four Nordic countries

Potato fields in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden were sampled for single-lesion isolates of Phytophthora infestans . The aggressiveness of the isolates was determined on detached leaflets of potato cvs Bintje (susceptible) and Matilda (moderately resistant). The aggressiveness tests were carried out in the respective home countries of the isolates, with the exception of the Danish isolates. Fifteen Danish isolates were studied in each of the other three countries, including five isolates tested in all three laboratories. Results obtained from the Danish isolates revealed substantial differences between the test laboratories for infection efficiency, lesion growth rate and sporulation capacity on detached leaflets. When the laboratory effect was taken into account, the differences in aggressiveness between the countries were generally small or inconsistent between the test cultivars and epidemiologically insignificant. By contrast, variation among isolates within countries was substantial. The magnitude of the variation depended on country and cultivar. Maximal variation for the means of the isolates was between 89 and 185 h for latent period, between 100 and 1297 sporangia mm⁻² for sporulation capacity and between nearly zero and 6 mm day⁻¹ for lesion growth rate. Typically less than 1% of sporangia were able to cause infections, except in Norway. These extraordinarily low values may be an artefact of the testing method. High variation in results between the test laboratories emphasizes the need for caution when comparing results obtained by different research groups.     

Phenotypic and genotypic variation in Michigan populations of Phytophthora infestans from 2008 to 2010

Severe potato and tomato late blight epidemics in Michigan since 2008 prompted characterization of Phytophthora infestans isolates from the region. From eight counties in Michigan, 124 isolates were collected from infected potato and tomato plants from 2008 to 2010 and characterized using ‘classical’ markers and microsatellites. The classical markers included mating type, Gpi allozyme, mitochondrial DNA haplotype, sensitivity to metalaxyl‐M and tuber pathogenicity. All isolates from 2008 to 2010 were A2 mating type and Ia mtDNA haplotype (124 isolates), 105 isolates had Gpi profile 100/122, 17 isolates had the profile 100/100/111 and the remaining two isolates had 100/111/122. Sensitivity to metalaxyl‐M, expressed as EC₅₀ for mycelial growth in vitro, ranged from <0·1 to 91 μg mL^?1, where 95 and 96% of isolates were classified as either sensitive or intermediate in 2008–2009 and 2010 respectively. The metalaxyl‐M sensitivity and dominant Gpi profile were typical of clonal lineage US‐22, first isolated in 2008 in North America from tomato plants. Tuber pathogenicity, characterized as severity of tuber late blight, was also variable among isolates; however, isolates were less aggressive than previous genotypes present in Michigan, such as US‐8. Microsatellites (simple sequence repeats; SSRs) revealed a shift in the population, characterized by two clusters differentiated over time. These results suggested displacement of the US‐8 genotype by US‐22 from 2008 to 2010 in Michigan. Continuous tracking of changes within P. infestans populations provides evidence of genetic shifts due to migration, prompting modification of management strategies based on the phenotypic characteristics of causal genotypes.     

Evaluation of foliar resistance in potato to Phytophthora infestans based on an international field trial network

During the period 2000–03, local potato cultivars in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Denmark were tested for foliar resistance to Phytophthora infestans (late blight) in an international field trial network. Four standard cultivars were included in the trials: Sava, Oleva, Danva and Kuras. Primary disease-assessment data were entered into a common database, and parameters from the disease progress curves were calculated and made available on interactive web pages. A regression model, using relative area under disease progress curve (RAUDPC) values for cv. Oleva as a reference, was developed for the estimation of 1–9 scale values, where 1 = most susceptible. Standard deviations for the estimated 1–9 scale values and a nonparametric rank stability analysis of RAUDPC were used to evaluate the stability of resistance of the cultivars. Overall, the results showed stability of resistance for cvs Sava, Oleva and Danva, but not for Kuras. Use of the Internet-based Web-Blight service in this study facilitated comparison of results among countries for the level and stability of resistance. The estimated 1–9 scale values were similar to, or slightly lower than, those from official cultivar lists or from the European Cultivated Potato Database, especially for the more resistant cultivars. Possible reasons for discrepancies from different sources and locations are discussed. It is concluded that RAUPDC and the derived 1–9 scale values are useful for ranking cultivars for resistance to P. infestans , but this information is not detailed enough for use in a decision support system for late blight control.     

Foliar aggressiveness of Northern Ireland isolates of Phytophthora infestans on detached leaflets of three potato cultivars

The aggressiveness of 20 Northern Ireland single-lesion isolates of Phytophthora infestans was compared following their inoculation onto detached leaflets of three potato cultivars chosen on the basis of their differing levels of race-nonspecific resistance to late blight: Bintje (highly susceptible); Cara (moderately resistant); and Stirling (more resistant). Five isolates from outside Northern Ireland were included for comparative purposes: two from the Republic of Ireland; two from the USA (representing the US-1 and US-8 clonal lineages); and one from Mexico. To control the variation between tests, a balanced incomplete block design was used, as opposed to either a complete block design or the method of inclusion of standard isolates, where such variation would have increased the error. Highly significant variation for disease parameters, including latent period, infection frequency, area under the lesion expansion curve (AULEC) and sporulation capacity, was found between isolates. These differences were much more marked on the cultivars exhibiting higher levels of race-nonspecific resistance. There was a significant interaction between isolate and cultivar for all parameters assessed and, overall, no one isolate was the most aggressive across all three potato cultivars. However, a group comprising seven of the 20 Northern Ireland isolates was consistently found to exhibit the highest levels of aggression towards all three cultivars for each of the disease parameters. These results demonstrate that significant variation for foliar aggressiveness exists within the Northern Ireland population of P. infestans , and indicate the importance of selecting appropriately aggressive isolates for evaluation of host resistance to late blight within breeding programmes.     

Resistance to metalaxyl in Phytophthora infestans in the Netherlands

Two hundred and twenty two isolates ofPhytophthora infestans from infected potato foliage or tubers, obtained in 1981 from different potato fields in various regions of the Netherlands, were tested for their ability to infect potato leaf discs floating on solutions of metalaxyl of various concentrations. Isolates were designated as resistant to metalaxyl when sporulation occurred at a concentration of 1 g ml^–1 or higher.Forty-one isolates appeared to be resistant. Thirty-five of the resistant isolates and 29 sensitive ones originated from three areas involving circa 15% of the total Dutch potato acreage. In these areas 28% of the fields sampled were metalaxyl-treated and 78% of these fields yielded resistant isolates. Only one of the three areas had a history of metalaxyl resistance in 1980. Six metalaxyl-resistant and 152 sensitive isolates were found in potato fields in other areas including those with major problems of resistance in 1980. All of four old potato cull piles sampled in the latter areas yielded metalaxyl-resistant isolates and two of these sites had possibly been inoculum sources for nearby potato fields. Only 9% of the fields sampled in these areas were metalaxyl-treated and none of these yielded a metalaxyl-resistant isolate.The data are compatible with the idea that infected seed potatoes were the major source of the incoculum that initiated the early and severe late blight epidemic in 1981 in the Netherlands. The severity has been enhanced by late-blight-conducive weather conditions during the emergence of the crop and its early stages of development, when fungicides had not yet been applied. Old potato cull piles are assumed to have been less important in starting the 1981 epidemic.Apparently, infected seed potatoes carried predominantly metalaxyl-sensitive strains, which explains the prevalence of metalaxyl-sensitive strains in most of the fields. In 1980, the seed potato crop had been harvested before the problem of metalaxyl-resistance surfaced. Hence, it might be assumed that infection of seed potatoes, favoured by late-blight-conducive weather in 1980, had been caused by metalaxyl-sensitive strains. Evidence that seed potatoes could also carry metalaxyl-resistant strains was obtained in two cases. It might explain their early occurrence in fields located in areas without a history of metalaxyl resistance in 1980 and the rapid build-up of a resistant population in a number of metalaxyl-treated fields.Development of resistance in potato fields, which were under heavy disease pressure after spraying with a mixture of metalaxyl and mancozeb, could not be proven definitely. In one experimental field the seed tubers very likely carried metalaxyl-resistant strains, which initiated an epidemic, and in a second field the influx of resistant strains from elsewhere could not be completely ruled out. In the latter field spraying the mixture at a two-week interval could not effectively control the disease. In this field a considerable degree of tuber infection by metalaxyl-resistant strains was noticed.No correlation existed between the behaviour of a particular strain towards metalaxyl and the genes for virulence present. Among a total of 79 isolates, the race of which has been identified, 23 different races were found. Race 1.3.4.7.10.11 was most frequently found, followed by race 1.3.4.7.11. Among 37 resistant isolates 10 different races could be identified.Samenvatting Gedurende de zomer en najaar van 1981 werden 222 veldisolaten vanPhytophthora infestans met behulp van een drijftoets getoetst op resistentie tegen metalaxyl. Per perceel werd meestal één isolaat, hetzij afkomstig van een door de aardappelziekte aangetast blad, hetzij van een zieke knol, getoetst.Eén en veertig isolaten bleken resistent te zijn. Van deze 41 waren er 35 afkomstig uit West Brabant, de Hoekse Waard en Oost Brabant/Noord Limburg, waar ongeveer 15% van het totale aardappelareaal in Nederland is gelegen. Daarnaast werden uit deze gebieden 29 gevoelige isolaten verkregen. Van de bemonsterde percelen uit de drie genoemde gebieden was 29% één- of tweemaal met metalaxyl behandeld, meestal in combinatie met andere middelen. Uit 78% van de aldus behandelde percelen werd een resistant isolaat verkregen. In de genoemde gebieden werden in 1980 alleen in Oost-Brabant/Noord Limburg problemen ondervonden van metalaxylresistentie.In percelen in overige gedeelten van Nederland, waar in 1980 algemeen metalaxylresistentie werd waargenomen, werden in totaal slechts zes metalaxyl-resistente en 152 gevoelige isolaten aangetroffen. Geen enkel van de met metalaxyl bespoten percelen (9% van het aantal bemonsterde percelen) leverde hier een resistent isolaat op. Uit een viertal aardappelafvalhopen in deze gebieden waarop de aardappelziekte voorkwam, werden metalaxyl-resistente stammen verkregen en twee ervan hadden waarschijnlijk een naburig perceel besmet.De resultaten van het onderzoek en de waarnemingen in de percelen wijzen erop dat de vroege en hevige epidemie van de aardappelziekte in 1981 is veroorzaakt door besmet pootgoed waaruit secundair zieke planten zijn ontstaan. Daarnaast werd het uitbreken van de epidemie vooral begunstig door de voorPhytophthora gunstige weersomstandigheden gedurende de periode eind mei tot half juni en het feit dat de eerste bespuiting te laat werd uitgevoerd, hetzij door overmacht, hetzij door het te traag reageren op de waarschuwingen via de radio.In 1980 hebben voornamelijk metalaxyl-gevoelige stammen het pootgoed kunnen besmetten, hetgeen verklaarbaar is uit het feit dat in dat jaar de problemen met metalaxylresistentie pas werden waargenomen nadat het loof van het pootgoed was vernietigd. In een tweetal gevallen zijn evenwel aanwijzingen verkregen dat pootgoed ook besmet kon zijn met resistente stammen. Een dergelijke besmetting is waarschijnlijk ook de verklaring voor het op grote schaal voorkomen van resistente stammen in West Brabant en de Hoekse Waard na een eenmalige toepassing van metalaxyl.In een tweetal proefvelden, waarvan er één was gelegen in Zuid-Flevoland en het andere te Heelsum, is het ontstaan van een resistante populatie bestudeerd bij een twee-wekelijkse toepassing van een mengsel van metalaxyl en mancozeb. Pootgoed, gebruikt in het op praktijkschaal uitgevoerde experiment in Zuid-Flevoland, bleek waarschijnlijk besmet te zijn met metalaxyl-resistente stammen, zoals op 1 juli werd vastgesteld in een onbehandeld gedeelte van het perceel. Op het behandelde gedeelte bleek het mengsel de ontwikkeling van de ziekte aanzienlijk te vertragen; evenwel werd na 16 juli een wekelijkse bespuiting met een maneb/fentin acetaat-bevattend produkt uitgevoerd voor een zo goed mogelijk ziektebestrijding.Op het in Heelsum gelegen proefveld werd op 5 augustus de ziekte het eerst waargenomen in het behandelde gedeelte, nadat de planten in het onbehandelde gedeelte, ten gevolgen van een doelbewuste inoculatie met gevoelige stammen op een naast gelegen aardappel-selectieveld, reeds voor meer dan 50% waren aangetast. Uit aangetaste bladeren van het behandelde gedeelte konden metalaxyl-resistente stammen worden geïsoleerd. In de loop van augustus bleek het metalaxyl/mancozeb-mengsel niet in staat verdere uitbreiding van de ziekte tegen te gaan en trad knolinfectie op. Begin september werden uitsluitend resistente stammen aangetroffen.Geen enkel verband kon worden vastgesteld tussen het optreden van metalaxyl-resistentie en het voorkomen van een bepaald fysio van de schimmel. Op een totaal van 79 isolaten konden 23 verschillende fysio's worden geïdentificeerd. Het fysio 1.3.4.7.10.11 werd de meeste keren gevonden, gevolgd door fysio 1.3.4.7.11. Tien verschillende fysio's werden aangetroffen onder de 37 getoetste metalaxyl-resistente isolaten.     

Genetic structure and pathogenicity of populations of Phytophthora infestans from organic potato crops in France, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom

Genetic variation and pathogenicity of Phytophthora infestans isolates collected from organic potato crops of the susceptible cv. Bintje and the moderately resistant cv. Santé were assessed in France, Norway, and the United Kingdom in 2001 and in Switzerland in 2001 and 2002. Population structures differed considerably between the four P. infestans populations. Those from France, Switzerland and the UK were mainly clonal populations showing restricted levels of genetic diversity, whilst those from Norway were mixed A1 and A2 mating type populations with high levels of genetic diversity, suggesting periodical sexual reproduction. Isolates collected from cv. Bintje were on average more aggressive than or comparable to isolates from cv. Santé. Race complexity varied considerably between the regional P. infestans populations, with isolates from France and Switzerland showing the highest number of virulence factors. In all pathogen samples but the French, isolates collected from cv. Santé were more complex than isolates collected from cv. Bintje. No directional selection towards increased aggressiveness towards the more resistant cultivar Santé was observed. This suggests that there is no shift towards increased levels of pathogenicity in P. infestans populations following the large-scale introduction of more resistant potato varieties in organic production systems in Europe.     

Aggressiveness and host specificity of Brazilian isolates of Phytophthora infestans

The population of Phytophthora infestans in Brazil consists of two clonal lineages, US-1 associated with tomatoes and BR-1 associated with potatoes. To assess whether host specificity in these lineages resulted from differences in aggressiveness to potato and tomato, six aggressiveness-related epidemiological components – infection frequency (IF), incubation period (IP), latent period (LP), lesion area (LA), lesion expansion rate (LER) and sporulation at several lesion ages (SSLA) – were measured on detached leaflets of late blight-susceptible potato and tomato plants. Infection frequency of US-1 was similar on potato and tomato leaflets, but IF of BR-1 was somewhat reduced on tomato. Incubation period was longer on both hosts with US-1, although this apparent lineage affect was not significant. Overall there was no host effect on IP. On potato, BR-1 had a shorter LP (110·3 h) and a larger LA (6·5 cm²) than US-1 (LP = 162·0 h; LA = 2·8 cm²). The highest LER resulted when isolates of BR-1 (0·121 cm² h⁻¹) and US-1 (0·053 cm² h⁻¹) were inoculated on potato and tomato leaflets, respectively. The highest values of the area under the sporulation capacity curve (AUSC) were obtained for isolates of US-1 inoculated on tomato leaflets (6146) and for isolates of BR-1 on potato leaflets (3775). In general, higher values of LA, LER, SSLA and AUSC, and shorter values of LP were measured when isolates of a clonal lineage were inoculated on their original host than with the opposite combinations. There is evidence that there are quantitative differences in aggressiveness components between isolates of US-1 and BR-1 clonal lineages that probably contribute to host specificity of P. infestans populations in Brazil.     

The effect of the presence of R-genes for resistance to late blight (Phytophthora infestans) of potato (Solanum tuberosum) on the underlying level of field resistance

The differential genotypes R₁, R₁₀ and R₁₁, as originally defined by Black, were crossed with R-gene-free cultivars and the progenies divided into two subpopulations comprising those which had inherited the R-gene and those which had not. The underlying level of field resistance of the two groups was compared in a field trial in which they were inoculated with an isolate that could overcome the relevant R-genes. The R-gene-bearing group was significantly ( P  < 0·001) more resistant than the R-gene-free group, with mean scores over four dates in 2000 of 4·86 and 4·09, respectively, on a 1–9 scale of increasing resistance, and of 4·10 and 2·35 on one date in 2001. However, the magnitude of the effect depended on the R-gene and the year of the trial. Data from a progeny of cv. Stirling (with an R-gene and a high level of field resistance) were examined and the same effect of an R-gene found. Fewer of the R-gene-bearing group of clones were highly susceptible, and more were resistant. The most resistant clones always bore the R-gene. It is concluded that increased resistance is conferred by the defeated R-gene or linked genes for field resistance.     

Production, survival and infectivity of oospores of Phytophthora infestans

The formation of oospores of Phytophthora infestans was studied in tomato and potato crops and volunteer plants under field conditions, and in laboratory tests with leaf discs of potato cultivars differing in their level of race-nonspecific resistance. Oospores were readily detected in blight-affected tomato leaflets and fruits, and in leaflets of field crops and volunteer potato plants. Oospores extracted from blighted potato leaflets yielded 13 oospore-derived progeny. Oospores were also produced following inoculation of leaf discs of eight potato cultivars expressing different levels of race-nonspecific resistance with a mixture of sporangia of A1 and A2 isolates. The highest numbers of oospores were produced in cvs Bintje (susceptible) and Pimpernel (resistant), and the lowest in Nicola (intermediate resistance). The relationship between lesions per leaflet and oospore incidence, affected by varying A1 : A2 ratios, was explored using a simple mathematical model, and validated by comparing actual oospore production in leaflets with multiple lesions of the race-nonspecific-resistant potato clone Lan 22-21 with the predictions generated by the model. Survival of oospores was investigated after their incorporation in either a sandy or a light clay soil in buried clay pots exposed to the local weather conditions. Over 6 years these soils were regularly assessed for their infection potential using floating leaflets in a spore-baiting bioassay. Sandy and clay soils contaminated with oospores remained infectious for 48 and 34 months, respectively, when flooded. Infections of floating potato leaflets occurred within 84–92 h and ceased after 11 days. Soil samples remained infective if dried and re-flooded on two, but not more, occasions.     

Stability and variability of virulence of Phytophthora infestans assessed in a ring test across European laboratories

Determining virulence towards race‐specific resistance genes is a prerequisite to understanding the response of pathogen populations to resistant cultivars, and therefore to assess the durability of these resistance genes and the performance of resistance management strategies. In Phytophthora infestans, virulence testing began shortly after the introduction of R‐genes from Solanum demissum into S. tuberosum cultivars. However, the characteristics of R‐gene expression, the sensitivity of the phenotype to environmental and physiological parameters, and the diversity of experimental protocols make the comparison of data from different studies problematic. This prompted European teams working on P. infestans diversity to: (i) design a joint protocol, using detached leaflets from greenhouse‐grown plants of a shared set of differential cultivars inoculated with standardized suspensions of inoculum, and (ii) assess the performance of this protocol in a blind ring test involving 12 laboratories and 10 European isolates of the pathogen. A high level of consensus in the determination of virulence/avirulence to R1, R3, R4, R7, R8, R10 and R11 was achieved among the collaborators, showing that the protocol could be robustly applied across a range of laboratories. However, virulence to R2, R5 or R9 was detected more frequently in some laboratories, essentially from northern Europe; these genes are known to be highly sensitive to host and environmental conditions. The consensus determination was often markedly different from the original virulence phenotype of the isolates, suggesting virulence instability in stored P. infestans isolates. This indicates that creating reliable core collections of pathogen isolates with known virulences could be difficult.     

French isolates of Phytophthora infestans from potato and tomato differ in phenotype and genotype

Prior to 1996, the A2 mating type of Phytophthora infestans was not detected on potato in France, but was found at one site on tomato in 1995. This finding lead to the question of the extent of differences and relationships existing between the populations of P. infestans present on each host. A collection of 76 isolates collected in France, mainly in 1996, from potato and tomato was characterised for mating type, allozyme genotype at the Gpi and Pep loci, and mitochondrial DNA haplotype; 74 of these isolates were also characterised for multilocus RFLP fingerprint, and 62 for virulence. All isolates except four showed allozyme genotypes (Gpi 90/100 or 100/100, Pep 83/100 or 100/100) and mtDNA haplotypes (Ia or IIa) characteristic of the populations introduced into Europe in the late 1970s. The four exceptions were isolates collected from tomato in Southern France in 1988-1991, which showed some characteristics of the former European populations (Gpi 86/100, Pep 92/100, mtDNA Ib). Both mating types were present among the collections from both hosts, but isolates with the A2 mating type were found on potato only in one garden crop, adjacent to tomato. Nine different RG57 fingerprints were observed, with a greater diversity among tomato isolates. Furthermore, tomato and potato collections differed markedly in the frequencies of genotypes present. Finally, tomato isolates generally had a lower virulence complexity than potato isolates. These data suggest that P. infestans populations on tomato and potato are largely separated, despite the occurrence of limited gene flow.     

Phytophthora infestans in a subtropical region: survival on tomato debris, temporal dynamics of airborne sporangia and alternative hosts

Little is known about inoculum dynamics of late blight caused by Phytophthora infestans in tropical/subtropical areas, particularly in Brazil. The objectives of the present study were to assess (i) the survival of the pathogen on stems, leaflets and tomato fruits, either buried or not in soil; (ii) the pathogenicity of P . infestans to mostly solanaceous plant species commonly found in Brazil that could act as inoculum reservoir; and (iii) the temporal dynamics of airborne sporangia. Phytophthora infestans survived in tomato plant parts for less than 36 days under greenhouse and field conditions. In greenhouse tests, pathogen structures were detected earlier on crop debris kept in dry than in wet soil conditions. Isolates of two clonal lineages of P. infestans , US-1 from tomato, and BR-1 from potato, were inoculated on 43 plant species. In addition to potato and tomato, Petunia  ×  hybrida and Nicotiana benthamiana were susceptible to the pathogen. Airborne inoculum was monitored with Rotorod and Burkard spore traps as well as with tomato and potato trap plants. Sporangia were sampled in most weeks throughout 2004 and in the first two weeks of 2005. Under tropical/subtropical conditions, airborne inoculum is abundant and is more important to late blight epidemics than inoculum from crop debris or alternative hosts.     

Diversity of populations of Phytophthora infestans in relation to patterns of potato crop management in Latvia and Lithuania

Potato crop losses can be substantial when conditions for late blight (Phytophthora infestans) development and spread are favourable. In this study, drivers of differences between the P. infestans population structures in Latvia and Lithuania, two neighbouring countries with similar potato-growing traditions, were investigated. Genotypes of P. infestans and population genetic diversity were analysed using a 12-plex simple sequence repeat (SSR) marker assay. High genetic diversity was demonstrated in both populations, with population diversity being higher in Latvia. It would appear that local populations established from soilborne oospores early in the season are well adapted to the conditions in the region. However, somewhat greater spread and survival of local clones was detected in Lithuania, suggesting that potato cropping there is more vulnerable to clonal invasion than in Latvia. For effective disease management, current strategies should be adjusted according to the specific pathogen populations in the region, considering the reproduction and survival of the pathogen. Potato growers should implement late blight preventive measures such as longer field rotation to prevent oospore infections, especially in Latvia, and should use more disease resistant cultivars and high-quality seed potatoes.     

Effects of host and pathogen genotypes on inducibility of resistance in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) to Phytophthora infestans

Thirteen tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) accessions were tested for inducibility of resistance against two isolates of Phytophthora infestans using BABA (dl ‐3‐amino butyric acid) as the inducing agent. In a more detailed trial, six of the accessions were assessed for inducibility of resistance to six P. infestans isolates on three leaves of different age per plant. Plants were inoculated 1 week after treatment with BABA. Area under the disease progress curve (AUDPC), sporulation capacity (SC) and infection efficiency (IE) were all affected by treatment with BABA. On leaves of all ages AUDPC was most affected by induction (43–100% reduction on the youngest leaves) followed by SC (14–100%) and IE (0–100% reduction). Tomato genotypes varied significantly in inducibility of resistance against P. infestans and the degree of induction generally decreased with increasing leaf age, whilst the absolute susceptibility with respect to AUDPC and SC rarely changed. The level of induction was not always related to the resistance level of the tomato accession and it was significantly influenced by the pathogen isolate used for challenge inoculation. The results show that inducibility of resistance is a selectable trait that is, however, isolate‐specific.     

Population structure and host range of the potato late blight pathogen Phytophthora infestans in Peru spanning two decades

The genetic diversity of the late blight pathogen Phytophthora infestans infecting cultivated potato and alternative hosts growing in the vicinity of fields in the main potato-growing areas of the Peruvian Andes was characterized using collections from 1997–2013 as reference. The Peruvian P. infestans population, including previously collected and current isolates, consists of four clonal lineages (EC-1, US-1, PE-3 and PE-7) that belong to the A1 mating type and have been present in the country for decades. The first report of US-1 was in isolates collected between 1982 and 1986; meanwhile, EC-1 and PE-3 appeared for the first time in isolates from 1992 and PE-7 was found in 1997. The pathogen has a very broad host range among the solanaceous plants infecting cultivated potato, tomato, pear melon and several wild species. The solanaceous species growing in the vicinity of the potato fields sampled were identified and surveyed for late blight-like symptoms. Phytophthora infestans was isolated from nine wild species, including three new host species: Solanum zahlbruckneri, Solanum grandidentatum and Iochroma grandiflorum. There was no clear host specialization, but geographical substructuring was found as well as changes in the pathogen populations at the regional level. The clonal lineage EC-1, which is mostly resistant to metalaxyl, has complex virulence and contains a high level of subclonal variation, continues to dominate the population. Some multilocus genotypes of the EC-1 lineage were sampled in high frequencies and were found among the previously collected and new samples.