Transgenic crops and beyond: how can biotechnology contribute to the sustainable control of plant diseases?

Disease resistance is without argument the best technological approach to control diseases in plants since no management input is required by the grower once the resistant variety has been planted. The biggest problems in using disease resistance lie in the facts that effective sources of resistance are not available for many important diseases, especially those caused by necrotrophic pathogens; and that pathogen populations adapt to the utilisation of novel sources of resistance, most notably for air-borne biotrophic pathogens. Several biotechnological approaches have been developed to produce disease resistant plants, the most recent known as NBT – New Breeding Technologies. This review focuses on recent advances in those technologies which adapt the knowledge obtained using molecular genetic approaches for the study of plant-microbe interactions to combat plant diseases.     

Impacts of climate change on plant diseases—opinions and trends

There has been a remarkable scientific output on the topic of how climate change is likely to affect plant diseases. This overview addresses the need for review of this burgeoning literature by summarizing opinions of previous reviews and trends in recent studies on the impacts of climate change on plant health. Sudden Oak Death is used as an introductory case study: Californian forests could become even more susceptible to this emerging plant disease, if spring precipitations will be accompanied by warmer temperatures, although climate shifts may also affect the current synchronicity between host cambium activity and pathogen colonization rate. A summary of observed and predicted climate changes, as well as of direct effects of climate change on pathosystems, is provided. Prediction and management of climate change effects on plant health are complicated by indirect effects and the interactions with global change drivers. Uncertainty in models of plant disease development under climate change calls for a diversity of management strategies, from more participatory approaches to interdisciplinary science. Involvement of stakeholders and scientists from outside plant pathology shows the importance of trade-offs, for example in the land-sharing vs. sparing debate. Further research is needed on climate change and plant health in mountain, boreal, Mediterranean and tropical regions, with multiple climate change factors and scenarios (including our responses to it, e.g. the assisted migration of plants), in relation to endophytes, viruses and mycorrhiza, using long-term and large-scale datasets and considering various plant disease control methods.     

Defining and designing plant architectural ideotypes to control epidemics?

Ideotypes are a popular concept for plant breeders, who designate as such the ideal combinations of traits in a particular genotype to reach a pre-set production objective within a given socio-economic context. The historical, ‘genetic’ view of ideotypes has been more recently extended to cover the design of plant genotypes for specific cropping systems (the ‘agronomic’ view), or even the ideal combination of parameters, identified from formal or simulation modeling, to a specific agronomic problem (the ‘modelling’ view). These different forms of ideotypes in turn lead to different strategies for breeding plants. This paper will briefly describe, analyse and discuss some applications of these ideotype views, using the specific case of architectural traits of plant and crop canopies to limit the epidemic development of pests and diseases in crops. It is not intended to be an exhaustive and objective review of the existing literature on plant ideotypes, but rather to express as an ‘opinion’ paper the views discussed and elaborated among participants to the EpiArch network.     

Are plant diseases too much ignored in the climate change debate?

Ignoring plant diseases misinforms the climate change and food security debate. Diseases are expected not only to cause more severe crop loss in many areas in the world and threaten food security, but also to decrease the climate change mitigation capacity of forests, of other natural ecosystems and of producing crops. However, if research, policy and industry join forces to obtain the multidisciplinary knowledge necessary to adapt integrated pest management (IPM) to the changing climate, it is expected that sufficiently resilient cropping systems can be developed in time. This was the main conclusion of the International Conference on Climate Change and Plant Disease Management held in Evora, Portugal, in November 2010.     

Staying alive – is cell death dispensable for plant disease resistance during the hypersensitive response?

Probably the most known and best studied type of plant resistance to pathogenic infections is the hypersensitive response (HR), a form of localized programmed cell death associated with restriction or killing of pathogens that often leads to macroscopically visible localized tissue necrosis. It is generally assumed that cell death and resistance within the HR are physiologically and genetically linked. However, there has been considerable speculation about whether cell death is an absolute requirement for resistance conditioned by the HR. This review discusses the relation of cell death and resistance in the HR, in particular, the importance of cell death in this process. We intend to focus on the increasing amount of research evidence showing that in several plant-pathogen interactions, the two main components of the HR – resistance and cell death – can be physiologically, genetically and temporally uncoupled. In other words, HR should be considered as a combination of resistance and cell death responses, where cell death may be dispensable for plant disease resistance. The varying contribution of these two components (i.e. cell death and resistance) generates an array of defense strategies differing in efficiency. Thus, a very early and rapid defense response seems to contribute to the development of macroscopically symptomless (extreme) resistance, while a moderately early defense response results in resistance with the concomitant development of controlled and limited cell and tissue death (HR). Accordingly, a delayed and failed attempt by the host to elicit resistance responses would result in massively stressed plant tissues (e.g. “systemic HR”) and a partial or almost complete loss of control over pathogen invasion. The dynamic nature of resistance responses in plants implies that resistance can be effective with or without cell death but its outcome and efficiency may depend primarily on the timing and speed of the host response.     

What is the evidence for sexual reproduction of Phytophthora infestans in Europe?

The biology of late blight of potato and tomato, caused by Phytophthora infestans, changed when sexual reproduction by the pathogen became possible in many parts of the world, including Europe. In northern Europe, especially Scandinavia, there is increasing evidence that the pathogen is reproducing sexually on a regular basis, although in other regions further south or to the west it appears to reproduce primarily in a clonal manner. The presence of both mating types, the production of viable oospores, and observations of fields with soilborne sources of inoculum are consistent with sexual reproduction. Studies with different marker systems have revealed a population structure without any dominating clonal lineages in Scandinavia, and that is most easily explained by sexual reproduction. Phytophthora infestans recovered from the soil can also be linked to parental genotypes using likelihood‐based methods when codominant markers are used. A synthesis of all the available data points to a second centre of sexual reproduction in northern Europe.     

The debate on a loss of biodiversity: can we derive evidence from the monitoring of major plant pests and diseases in major crops?

Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection - The European commission directive EC 128/2009 calls for monitoring pests and pathogens of major crops. The monitoring data may be analysed for trends over...     

Quality assurance in plant health diagnostics – the experience of the Danish Plant Directorate

Worldwide, there is increasing focus on implementation of Quality Assurance systems (QA-systems) in plant health diagnostic laboratories. Several laboratories are in the development or implementation phase and some laboratories have gained accreditation through approval by national accreditation boards. To initiate the process of developing and implementing QA-systems, management and staff need a strong motivation factor. First, because it is a time-consuming and demanding process to go through. Second, because plant health testing does not fit very well into the QA-systems that traditionally were developed for chemical or physical testing laboratories. External pressure is often the only way to generate this motivation factor amongst staff and management to initiate the development of QA-systems. The principal motivation factor in our laboratory was a national requirement that official testing laboratories should implement QA-systems. At the Danish Plant Directorate (PD) we have gained experiences with accreditation of plant health diagnostic methods during the past 5 years. The focus of this paper is a presentation of the consequences and the practical approach to comply with the requirements of ISO 17025 in our plant health diagnostic laboratory. This includes the themes: staff competence and responsibilities, documentation and traceability, and continuous assessment and improvement of the QA-system.     

Breakdown of plant virus resistance: can we predict and extend the durability of virus resistance?

Cultivars with introgressed natural resistance genes have been widely used for plant disease control, especially in the control of virus diseases, for which no effective chemical control agent is available. However, we often encounter virus mutants that break down or overcome the resistance. In this review, recent studies will be discussed with respect to breakdown of plant virus resistance.     

Biological control of the millet head miner Heliocheilus albipunctella in the Sahelian region by augmentative releases of the parasitoid wasp Habrobracon hebetor: effectiveness and farmers’ perceptions

On-farm augmentative releases of the parasitoid Habrobracon hebetor (Say) for controlling the millet head miner (MHM) Heliocheilus albipunctella (de Joannis) were tested in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger from 2007 to 2009. In addition, a survey of farmers’ perceptions of insect pests, with particular focus on MHM, and the biological control program (BCP) was carried out. There was a significant increase of MHM parasitization rate after the releases, with up to 97% mortality. The survey on farmers’ perceptions revealed a fair knowledge of the MHM and the ability of farmers to describe the pest and the damage it caused. Farmers claimed that the biocontrol agent H. hebetor is effective and perceived a significant gain in grain yield due to this control strategy. Implications of these findings for a large extension of the MHM biocontrol program are discussed.     

Consistency in pest risk analysis – how can it be achieved and what are the benefits?*

This paper describes the efforts in the PRATIQUE EU project to increase consistency that were integrated into the revised EPPO Decision‐support scheme (DSS) for Pest Risk Analysis (PRA). The establishment section is used here to illustrate the changes and improvements of the DSS, as it has undergone the most comprehensive changes with reformulation and restructuring of many questions and detailed rating guidance. When revising the establishment section of the EPPO DSS for PRA, there were three principal objectives that influenced the revision: (i) to focus the assessment on the most relevant factors influencing establishment; (ii) to identify the area where establishment is possible before assessing the suitability of that area, and (iii) to enhance the consistency of the establishment section by providing rating guidance with sub‐questions and examples. To simplify the process, some questions were rephrased as closed questions (answer is either yes or no). Clearer notes were provided to explain what information is needed to answer the questions. Furthermore, consistency has been enhanced by developing tools to help assessors when deciding on an appropriate overall risk rating and uncertainty score by providing a visual summary of the risk ratings and uncertainty scores (‘Visualizer’) and a method for integrating all the responses to the questions to provide a summary score for each major section and an overall assessment of risk (‘Rule based matrix model’).     

Acceptability of pesticide impacts on the environment: what do United Kingdom stakeholders and the public value?

EU Directive 91/414/EEC requires there to be no unacceptable effects on the environment from the use of pesticides. This paper reports the views of direct stakeholder groups and results from an opinion survey of more than 2000 members of the general public on what in practice should constitute acceptable and unacceptable effects of pesticides. Stakeholders in focus groups were concerned with the potential effects of pesticides on animal and plant population viability and micro-organism function but recognized that a trade-off exists between the potential economic advantages of responsible pesticide use and the potential disadvantages of individual poisoning events. The public opinion survey showed that although pesticides are widely used in homes and gardens, their use on farm crops remains of concern to the public. Concerns are greatest on issues of human health and food quality but potential environmental effects are also an issue for a substantial number of people, particularly if attractive species could be affected.     

What have the mechanisms of resistance to glyphosate taught us?

The intensive use of glyphosate alone to manage weeds has selected populations that are glyphosate resistant. The three mechanisms of glyphosate resistance that have been elucidated are (1) target-site mutations, (2) gene amplification and (3) altered translocation due to sequestration. What have we learned from the selection of these mechanisms, and how can we apply those lessons to future herbicide-resistant crops and new mechanisms of action? First, the diversity of glyphosate resistance mechanisms has helped further our understanding of the mechanism of action of glyphosate and advanced our knowledge of plant physiology. Second, the relatively rapid evolution of glyphosate-resistant weed populations provides further evidence that no herbicide is invulnerable to resistance. Third, as new herbicide-resistant crops are developed and new mechanisms of action are discovered, the weed science community needs to ensure that we apply the lessons we have learned on resistance management from the experience with glyphosate. Every new weed management system must be evaluated during development for its potential to select for resistance, and stewardship programs should be in place when the new program is introduced. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

How widespread is Parthenium hysterophorus and its biological control agent Zygogramma bicolorata in South Asia?

Parthenium hysterophorus is a weed of global significance causing severe economic, environmental, human and animal health problems in Asia, Africa, Australia and the Pacific. In South Asia, P. hysterophorus occurs in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal. A host-specific leaf-feeding beetle Zygogramma bicolorata from México was introduced into India in 1984, as a biological control agent for P. hysterophorus . In this study, a GIS-based distribution map of P. hysterophorus and its biological control agent Z. bicolorata in South Asia based on meta-analysis is presented. The map highlights the limited published information on P. hysterophorus incidence in many of the states and territories in India, as well as in neighbouring Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Pakistan. Incidence of Z. bicolorata was recorded as three distinct clusters, covering many states in India. In Pakistan, Z. bicolorata was recorded in the Punjab region bordering India. A CLIMEX model based on the current distribution of Z. bicolorata in India suggests that the geographic range of this agent in India and Pakistan can extend to other P. hysterophorus -infested areas in the region. The CLIMEX model also suggests that all of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, and parts of Nepal are climatically suitable for Z. bicolorata.     

What have we learned from studies of wild plant-pathogen associations?—the dynamic interplay of time,space and life-history

The interplay of host and pathogen life history traits with disease epidemiology and the selective pressures exerted on hosts drives genetic change and the long-term coevolutionary trajectories of host-pathogen associations. Many studies have addressed various aspects of the ways in which hosts and their pathogens interact but have tended to focus on individual populations, on comparisons made at single points in time, or on broader comparisons that confound patterns from different epidemiological and evolutionary units. While such studies provide valuable information, their essentially ‘static’ snap-shot nature limits the ability to interpret the nature of the underpinning coevolutionary processes. An increasing number of long-term studies involving repeat sampling of multiple interaction demes distributed across space are giving insight into the complexity of the numerical and genetic dynamics of host and pathogen interactions. These illustrate: (a) the ephemerality of disease in individual populations in contrast to its predictability at the metapopulation scale; (b) the spatial and temporal dynamics of selection ‘hot-spots’, rates of extinction and recolonization; and (c) differences in coevolutionary dynamics among demes within a metapopulation. Such long-term studies further emphasise the interplay between life history traits, time and space, and the importance of developing a framework to classify the seemingly daunting diversity of host-pathogen associations.