Methods Supporting Surveillance and (Bio)control of Plant Pathogens

A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Pest and Disease Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 October 2021) | Viewed by 10232

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Research Centre for Genomics and Bioinformatics (CREA-GB), Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, 29017 Fiorenzuola d’Arda, Italy
Interests: DNA-based traceability of plant and microbial species; mycotoxin monitoring; natural antimicrobials; transcriptome analysis of cereal–fungal pathogen interactions
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Guest Editor
Department of Sustainable Crop Production, Università Catolica del Sacro Cuore, Piacenza, Italy
Interests: plant pathology; botanical epidemiology; plant disease modelling; risk assessment; decision-making in crop protection; sustainable crop management; biological control; precision crop protection
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear colleagues,

The sustainability of agricultural production takes advantage of new strategies and new methods capable of reducing the negative impact on crops of plant pathogens. Many different actions and methods can in fact be combined to improve the control of biotic stresses in an environmentally sustainable framework of actions. There are many methods, strategies, and actions that can contribute to this ultimate goal, ranging from genetics to agronomic protocols and technological solutions. 

This Special Issue shall pay particular attention to two fields of action that may be relevant for a sustainable crop protection:

  • The development and validation of analytical approaches able to ensure a fast, inexpensive, and efficient diagnosis of plant pathogens and/or their secondary metabolites particularly significant for agro-food production chains (e.g., mycotoxins);
  • The identification of antimicrobials, such as natural and derived molecules, plant extracts, essential oils, and their components, or of microorganisms characterized by antagonism towards pathogens.

Contributions presenting plant pathogen diagnostic tools, fast analytical methods for tracking specific secondary metabolites and mycotoxins, plant pathogen population descriptors, natural and derived antimicrobials, and biocontrol protocols and strategies will be welcomed. Submissions covering applications within organic production will be prioritized.

Dr. Caterina Morcia
Dr. Giorgia Fedele
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • DNA-based diagnostics
  • mycotoxins
  • point-of-care diagnostics
  • fast diagnostic methods
  • biocontrol
  • antimicrobials
  • plant pathogen secondary metabolites

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 2153 KiB  
Article
Pseudomonas spp. Producing Antimicrobial Compounds Regulate Fungal Communities Inhabiting Wheat Crown in Southern Chile
by Herman A. Doussoulin, Noberto L. Arismendi and Ernesto A. Moya-Elizondo
Agronomy 2022, 12(3), 710; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12030710 - 15 Mar 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2967
Abstract
The 2,4-Diacetylphloroglucinol (2,4-DAPG) and phenazine (PCA)-producing Pseudomonas inhibit wheat pathogens’ development, but the relationship between communities of pathogens and genotypes of these bacteria has been little studied. Relationships between wheat crown fungi associated with the presence of 2,4-DAPG and PCA-producing pseudomonads were evaluated [...] Read more.
The 2,4-Diacetylphloroglucinol (2,4-DAPG) and phenazine (PCA)-producing Pseudomonas inhibit wheat pathogens’ development, but the relationship between communities of pathogens and genotypes of these bacteria has been little studied. Relationships between wheat crown fungi associated with the presence of 2,4-DAPG and PCA-producing pseudomonads were evaluated in four commercial wheat crops located in the La Araucanía and Los Lagos Regions of Chile, during two crops seasons. Portions of the base of the first internode of the culm collected during the grain-filling stage were cultured in an artificial medium for fungal isolation, while roots of the same wheat plants and from plants collected previous harvest, and also used to assess yield and plant height, were used for the detection of 2,4-DAPG and PCA-producing Pseudomonas spp. using PCR with specific primers. Genera Phaeosphaeria, Fusarium, Rhizoctonia, and Microdochium were repeatedly isolated (52.6%, 22.1%, 7.8%, and 4.9%, respectively) and the genetic composition of 2,4-DAPG and PCA-producing Pseudomonas spp. varied between fields and sampling periods. Genetic groups A, B, D, K, L, and P associated with the phlD gene were detected. The presence of 2,4-DAPG-producing bacteria benefited crop health, relating their existence with increasing yield and plant height, and the reduction in the incidence and severity of disease caused by pathogenic microorganisms on the first internode of wheat culms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Methods Supporting Surveillance and (Bio)control of Plant Pathogens)
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11 pages, 3216 KiB  
Article
Detection of Cacao Mild Mosaic Virus (CaMMV) Using Nested PCR and Evidence of Uneven Distribution in Leaf Tissue
by Alina S. Puig
Agronomy 2021, 11(9), 1842; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11091842 - 14 Sep 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3958
Abstract
Distribution of improved germplasm of Theobroma cacao is essential for meeting the increased demand for cocoa beans. In cacao, the introduction of new diseases is prevented by exchanging material through a national and international quarantine system. In 2020, virus symptoms were observed on [...] Read more.
Distribution of improved germplasm of Theobroma cacao is essential for meeting the increased demand for cocoa beans. In cacao, the introduction of new diseases is prevented by exchanging material through a national and international quarantine system. In 2020, virus symptoms were observed on plants in a quarantine greenhouse, and Cacao mild mosaic virus (CaMMV) was detected in one plant using published diagnostic primers. However, no virus was detected in other symptomatic plants. To address high pathogen diversity and low virus titer in recently infected plants, a nested PCR test was developed based on 15 CaMMV sequences from Trinidad and Puerto Rico. The test was validated on a subset (n = 30) of plants in the greenhouse, of which 29 tested positive. Most infections are thought to have occurred during the later stage of the quarantine period, possibly due to spread by mealybugs. However, phylogenetic analysis revealed the presence of three strains, suggesting that it was introduced on scionwood from multiple sources. Results of PCR assays on different leaf tissues indicate that the virus is unevenly distributed and that petiole tissue should be used in molecular diagnostics. The movement of infected scionwood is a major dissemination pathway for CaMMV but can be managed through careful screening. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Methods Supporting Surveillance and (Bio)control of Plant Pathogens)
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17 pages, 2792 KiB  
Article
Optimization of a Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification Assay for On-Site Detection of Fusarium fujikuroi in Rice Seed
by Martina Sanna, Davide Spadaro, Maria Lodovica Gullino and Monica Mezzalama
Agronomy 2021, 11(8), 1580; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11081580 - 9 Aug 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2356
Abstract
Fusarium fujikuroi, causing bakanae disease, is one of the most important seedborne pathogens of rice, the detection of which is paramount for seed certification and for preventing field infections. Molecular tests—qPCR and loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP)—are replacing the blotter test in seed [...] Read more.
Fusarium fujikuroi, causing bakanae disease, is one of the most important seedborne pathogens of rice, the detection of which is paramount for seed certification and for preventing field infections. Molecular tests—qPCR and loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP)—are replacing the blotter test in seed health procedures, due to higher sensitivity, specificity, fast turnaround results delivery, on-site application and the possibility of quantifying endophytic seed infections. A LAMP test, which had been previously developed with primers designed to target the elongation factor 1-α sequence of F. fujikuroi, was validated according to the international validation standard (EPPO, PM7/98) on thirty-four rice seed lines of different levels of susceptibility to the disease, thus comparing it to the blotter test and with two different DNA extraction procedures. The use of crude extracted DNA provided more sensitive results than the DNA extracted with the commercial kit Omega E.Z.N.A® Plant DNA kit. The results showed that the endophytic infection of F. fujikuroi is essential for the development of the disease in the field and that the minimum amount of the pathogen necessary for the development of the disease corresponds to 4.17 × 104 cells/µL. This study confirms the applicability of the LAMP technique on-site on rice seeds with fast and quantitative detection of the pathogen. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Methods Supporting Surveillance and (Bio)control of Plant Pathogens)
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