Tree Fungal Disease Problems

A special issue of Journal of Fungi (ISSN 2309-608X). This special issue belongs to the section "Fungi in Agriculture and Biotechnology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2023) | Viewed by 3537

Special Issue Editor

Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Natural Resources, Forest Health and Biodiversity, P.O. Box 2, FI-00790 Helsinki, Finland
Interests: tree - microbial interactions; biological control; biodiversity; urban forests; plant ecology
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The effects of fungal pathogens in trees are expected to be stronger and more widespread in the future. Fungal pathogens can affect the whole tree: canopy, leaves, trunks, branches, and roots, and their effects may vary from mild to devastating. We need information on different aspects of tree pathogens to understand their life cycles and to consider potential ways to mitigate their harmful effects on trees. The aim of this Special Issue is to provide space for original and review papers from all research areas of tree diseases induced by fungi, including tree disease resistance and susceptibility, the epidemiology and control of fungal pathogens, and fungal pathogenesis. Papers utilizing traditional methods and/or novel molecular methods are welcome.

Dr. Leena Hamberg
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • fungal pathogens
  • tree–fungal interactions
  • fungal diseases in trees
  • resistance of trees
  • control of fungal pathogens

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

40 pages, 9365 KiB  
Article
Wide Distribution and Intraspecies Diversity in the Pathogenicity of Calonectria in Soil from Eucalyptus Plantations in Southern Guangxi of China
by Wenxia Wu and Shuaifei Chen
J. Fungi 2023, 9(8), 802; https://doi.org/10.3390/jof9080802 - 29 Jul 2023
Viewed by 788
Abstract
Eucalyptus spp. are extensively cultivated in southern China because of their adaptability and versatile timber production. Calonectria leaf blight caused by Calonectria species is considered a major threat to Eucalyptus trees planted in China. The GuangXi Zhuang Autonomous Region is the provincial region [...] Read more.
Eucalyptus spp. are extensively cultivated in southern China because of their adaptability and versatile timber production. Calonectria leaf blight caused by Calonectria species is considered a major threat to Eucalyptus trees planted in China. The GuangXi Zhuang Autonomous Region is the provincial region with the largest distribution of Eucalyptus plantations in China. The present study aimed to expound the species diversity and pathogenicity of Calonectria isolates obtained from the soil of Eucalyptus plantations in GuangXi. A total of 188 Calonectria isolates were recovered from the soil located close to Eucalyptus trees, and the isolates were identified based on the DNA sequence comparisons of the four partial regions of the translation elongation factor 1-alpha (tef1), β-tubulin (tub2), calmodulin (cmdA), and histone H3 (his3) genes. The isolates were identified as Calonectria aconidialis (74.5%), C. hongkongensis (21.3%), C. pseudoreteaudii (2.1%), C. kyotensis (1.6%), and C. chinensis (0.5%). The inoculation results indicated that 40 isolates representing five Calonectria species were pathogenic to the three Eucalyptus genotypes. Two inoculated experiments consistently showed that the longest lesions were produced by the isolates of C. aconidialis. Some isolates of C. aconidialis, C. hongkongensis, and C. kyotensis produced significantly longer lesions than the positive controls, but not the isolates of C. pseudoreteaudii or C. chinensis. These results indicated that Calonectria isolated from the soil may pose a threat to Eucalyptus plantations. Some Calonectria isolates of the same species differed significantly in their virulence in the tested Eucalyptus genotypes. The resistance of different Eucalyptus genotypes to Calonectria isolates within the same species was inconsistent. The inoculation results in this study suggested that many Calonectria isolates in each species had different levels of pathogenicity, and many Eucalyptus genotypes need to be tested to select disease-resistant Eucalyptus genetic materials in the future. The results of the present study enhance our knowledge of species diversity and the potential damage caused by Calonectria in the soil of Eucalyptus plantations. Our results also provide new insights into the breeding of disease-resistant Eucalyptus genotypes for controlling Calonectria leaf blight in China in the future. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tree Fungal Disease Problems)
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17 pages, 855 KiB  
Article
Efficacy of Biological and Chemical Control Agents against Heterobasidion Spore Infections of Norway Spruce and Scots Pine Stumps on Drained Peatland
by Tuula Piri, Markku Saarinen, Leena Hamberg, Jarkko Hantula and Talis Gaitnieks
J. Fungi 2023, 9(3), 346; https://doi.org/10.3390/jof9030346 - 11 Mar 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1293
Abstract
Treatment of conifer stumps with a control agent effectively prevents Heterobasidion spore infections in summer cuttings and protects the residual stand and the next tree generation from damage caused by Heterobasidion root rot. Thus far, stump treatment experiments have been carried out in [...] Read more.
Treatment of conifer stumps with a control agent effectively prevents Heterobasidion spore infections in summer cuttings and protects the residual stand and the next tree generation from damage caused by Heterobasidion root rot. Thus far, stump treatment experiments have been carried out in mineral soils, and no information is available on the efficacy of stump treatment agents in boreal peatland conditions. In the present study, biological and chemical control agents (Phlebiopsis gigantea and urea, respectively) were tested in Scots pine and Norway spruce stands subjected to thinning, cap cutting, and clearcutting on drained peatland in Central Finland. The control efficacy of urea was high in both spruce and pine stumps (on average 99.5 and 85.3%, respectively), while the efficacy of P. gigantea was highly variable on both tree species and ranged from full protection down to negative control effect, i.e., there were more Heterobasidion infections on the treated than untreated half of the stumps. The moisture content of the stump wood or the thickness of the peat layer did not affect the control efficacy of either control agent. These results emphasize a need for further studies to determine the reasons for the unsteadiness of the biological control in peatland conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tree Fungal Disease Problems)
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13 pages, 2559 KiB  
Article
Phenotypic and Genomic Difference among Four Botryosphaeria Pathogens in Chinese Hickory Trunk Canker
by Tianling Ma, Yu Zhang, Chenyi Yan and Chuanqing Zhang
J. Fungi 2023, 9(2), 204; https://doi.org/10.3390/jof9020204 - 04 Feb 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1036
Abstract
Botryosphaeria species are amongst the most widespread and important canker and dieback pathogens of trees worldwide, with B. dothidea as one of the most common Botryosphaeria species. However, the information related to the widespread incidence and aggressiveness of B. dothidea among various Botryosphaeria [...] Read more.
Botryosphaeria species are amongst the most widespread and important canker and dieback pathogens of trees worldwide, with B. dothidea as one of the most common Botryosphaeria species. However, the information related to the widespread incidence and aggressiveness of B. dothidea among various Botryosphaeria species causing trunk cankers is still poorly investigated. In this study, the metabolic phenotypic diversity and genomic differences of four Chinese hickory canker-related Botryosphaeria pathogens, including B. dothidea, B. qingyuanensis, B. fabicerciana, and B. corticis, were systematically studied to address the competitive fitness of B. dothidea. Large-scale screening of physiologic traits using a phenotypic MicroArray/OmniLog system (PMs) found B. dothidea has a broader spectrum of nitrogen source and greater tolerance toward osmotic pressure (sodium benzoate) and alkali stress among Botryosphaeria species. Moreover, the annotation of B. dothidea species-specific genomic information via a comparative genomics analysis found 143 B. dothidea species-specific genes that not only provides crucial cues in the prediction of B. dothidea species-specific function but also give a basis for the development of a B. dothidea molecular identification method. A species-specific primer set Bd_11F/Bd_11R has been designed based on the sequence of B. dothidea species-specific gene jg11 for the accurate identification of B. dothidea in disease diagnoses. Overall, this study deepens the understanding in the widespread incidence and aggressiveness of B. dothidea among various Botryosphaeria species, providing valuable clues to assist in trunk cankers management. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tree Fungal Disease Problems)
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