disease Flashcards
what is plant pathology?
why does it exist?
which trade offs exist
the study of plant disease
it exists because to control plant diseases they must be understood
economic costs, effectiveness and environmental imapcts all exist (trade offs)
define plant disease and list its causes
when a causal agent (apthogen) causes continuous irritation or injury or abnormality biotic causes (microbes) abioic causes (drought, salt stress etc)
name 4 examples of plant disease
1840s: potato light blight cuased potato famine in Ireland
1870s: Srilanka outbreak of Coffee rust devestated the economy. transtition from coffee to tea
1940s: in bengal brown spot disease of rice occured causign famine
since 1970s: southern corn leaf blight of Maize has caused $1BN damage
discuss details of the Irish potato famine (time, causual agent, causes, effects, why effects were severe)
Time: 1940s
causal agent: Phytophthora infestans (oomycete: fungus like)
effects: 500,000 died, 1 million emigrated
why effects were bad:
-unknown cause
-favourable weather conditions
-reliance on potatoes
-lack of government response or control mechanism
-polycyclic life cycle; quick build up
state different biotic pathogens
viroids: pieces of RNA which alter expression viruses bacteria fungi plants; nutrient stealing witchweed
whats the difference between a pathogens life cycle and infection cycle
life cycle is birth to death
infection cycle is infection to spread
decribe pathogen infection cycles
infection; spore lands on leaf and germinates and grwos into the leaf
growth
reproduction
spread
describe the P. infestans life cycle
what has synthetic modelling taught us about the life cycle
1) Fungus overwinters in plant tubers
2) During spring, the fungus grows and produces sporangia which are structures containing spores; wind dispersal of sporangia occurs to leaves of other plants
3) sporangia either
- –germinate direction as germ tubes (hyphae into plants)
- –germinate indirectly as 6-8 zoospores which then form cysts (fluid sacs) which germinate as a germ tube hypha and infect the leaf.
4) once grown in plant, sporangia are produced which drop to the ground and and spread the disease further
direct germination occurs at temperatures above 18 degrees
indirect germination occurs at temperatures below 18 degrees
what different mechanisms do pathgoens use to get nutrients from plants
biotrophs: keep plant alive and gain nutrients
necrotrophs: kill plant and gain nutrition from dead tissie
hemibiotrophs: initially keep plant alive but eventually kill it
is P. infestans biotrophic, necrotrophic or hemibiotrophic
hemibiotrophic
whats the difference between disease signs and symptoms
signs: pathogen structures observed
symptoms: reactions occuring: cell death, yellowing, abnormal shape, stunted growth etc
why is disease management difficult
trade offs
resistance emerges
plants used change
environment change
list ways of controllign plant disease
regulations to stop spread changing cultural practises resistant plants biological control chemical control integrated approach
current state for pathogen control
lots of chemical control being used; policies to reduce usage are being implimented
biological cotnrol has little role; remains potential area and use is slightly increasing
define endemic, epidemic and epidemiology
endemic; disease present at low levels
epidemic: disease present in high percentage of population
- could be small populaiton like a field
- could be low level damage
epidemiology: studying disease development so that diseases can be managed
what are the 3 requirements for an epidemic
virulent pathogen present
sufficient inoculum at the correct time of the season
favourable environmental conditions for pathogens life cycle
what are the two pathogen life cycles
monocyclic: pathgoenic cycle occurs once per growing season
polygenic: pathgoenic cycle occurs mor than once per growing season; disease can build up to high levels
what is the logistic equation used to describe
polycyclic disease
discuss logistic growth of polycyclic diseases (define x and r)
x= the percentage of leaf area infected r= the basic infection rate (days). the larger the r the quicker the disease builds up
describe monocyclic diseases
one infection cycle oer growing season
gradual build up of inoculum in a logistic way
smut disease: pathogen produces spores when the plant flowers (once a year)
describe environmental effects on disease
chemical: soil pH and nutrients
physical: temperatures, moisture and wind
biological: other organisms
describe the disease triangle
environment effects both host and pathogen
environment and host effect eachother
host effects environement in a very minor and localsied way (pathogen too possibly)
describe and discuss disease modelling
predicting how disease will build up under certain conditions
results based on computer programs can be compared to real life results in order to update model
models can be used to help direct resources such as chemical control
easier to use a model compared to investigation in real life
discuss the two appraoches to disease modelling
1) empirical (meaning based on observation rather than theory); observe the amount of disease present and correlate it to the environment and amount of inoculum observed
2) theoretical: doing detailed analysis of how disease develops
a) analysis method: do an overall description than add details
b) synthesis method: understand the beahaviour of each part in order to understand the system as a whole
what is synthetic modelling
examining the the environment effects each stage of the infection cycle
what are the different measures of disease severity
-basic infection rate (r) number of cases one cases of infection one case generates on avergae over the growing season
-area under disease progress curve (AUDPC) ona time vs x graph (x meaning % leaf area infected)
-days to 50% blight (x)
final disease severity (x)
what are the two types of fungicides
which is more specific
advantages and disadvantages of each
protectant: remains on plant surface and prevents initial infection
systemic: taken up by plant and prevents pathgoen growth (even after initial infection event)
protectant is non specific and systemic is very specific
systemic is better in lots of ways;
-no cance of toxicity to plant,
-lower spray frequency
-lower dosage needed
-lower cost
-lower environmental hazard
PROBLEM: resistance to systemic fungicides is very common compared to resistance to protectants
describe the mode of action of both types of fungicides
protectant: non specific modification of protein SH groups
systemic: specific action against cellular processes, for example:
a) benzimidazoles; benomyl; bind to beta-tubulin protein and prevent microtubule formation; cell division stops
b) ergosterol biosynthesis inhibitors (EBIS); azoles; ergosterols are an important component of true fungi membranes for integrity. biosynthesis enzymes like CYP51 are inhibited
c) Acylalanines; mefanoxam; interfere with oomycete RNA synthesis
four ways pathogens develop resistance to chemical control
discuss one case study
1) detoxification; converson to harmless substance
2) overexpression of target gene
3) target site alteration by mutation;
- those sprayed with mefenoxam showed a mutation in the RPA160 subunit of RNA POL1 which was associated with resistance (86% association)
- transfer to sensitive strains showed resistance but slower growth; other factors at work
4) target site exclusion; making sure target site cant come into contact with the protein
a) reduced uptake of chemical
b) sequester chemical
what the three strategies against pathogenic resistance
1) crop management
a) use less sensitive cultivars
b) use good agricultural practises; plant crops a certain distance apart
2) use effective deployment
a) only use fungicide when needed
b) dont use fungicide to “cure plants”; pathgoen population will be very large so resistant more likely to arise
c) dont use too little fungicide
d) use models to work out the best time for deployment
3)use different/multiple fungicides at once; even if pathogens confer resistance to one fungicide, resistance to the second one simultaneously is unlikely
discuss the case study for chemical control
explain the pattern observed
Using acy-lala-nines to control P. infestans causing Potato late blight
1978: metalaxyl introduction in Europe
1980: isolates become resistant so the fungicide was withdrawn.
from here onward the number of resistant isolates began decreasing
1985: reintroduction in conjunction with another fungicide (protectant)
resistance of isolates increased to 70% but then stabilised at 50%
metalaxyl is still used and remains more effective than just using the protectant alone
different strains exist, some are sensitive, some are resistant. when the fungicide is used the resistant strain becomes dominant. lack of fungicide use causes the sensitive strain to beocme dominant (less energetically expensive)
what are rules which prevent resistance to fungicides like mefanoxam
1) use early in season (small populations)
2) done use curatively
3) maximum of 3 applications
4) done use of potatoes grown from seed