Comparative epidemiology of zoosporic plant pathogens |
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Authors: | Mike J Jeger Marco Pautasso |
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Institution: | (1) Division of Biology, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Ascot, SL5 7PY, UK |
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Abstract: | Loss of zoospores has happened independently several times in different phylogenic lines and has, it is claimed, no major
phylogenetic significance. But whether or not, how, and under which conditions plant pathogens retain the ability to produce
motile asexual spores has fundamental importance from an ecological and epidemiological perspective. Recent molecular investigations
of the early evolution of fungi and oomycetes are shedding light on the issue of zoospore loss in organisms able to cause
plant diseases. Zoospore loss may have accompanied the development of new forms of dispersal adapted to the terrestrial environment,
or the simplification processes which often follow the shift to parasitic or biotrophic life-forms. In this review we consider
hybridisation events between Phytophthora species, long distance dispersal of oomycetes, sporangia and zoospore survival, direct and indirect infection processes and
newly observed sporulating structures. These aspects are all relevant features for an understanding of the epidemiology of
zoosporic plant pathogens. Disease management should not be based on the presumption that the zoosporic stage is a weak link
in the life cycle. Oomycete plant pathogens show remarkable flexibility in their life cycles and ability to adapt to changing
environmental circumstances.
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Keywords: | Fungal phylogeny Landscape pathology Pathogen evolution Plant epidemiology Zoosporangia |
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