What type of organism is Phytophthora infestans?
Phytophthora infestans is an oomycete or water mold, a fungus-like microorganism that causes the serious potato and tomato disease known as late blight or potato blight. Early blight, caused by Alternaria solani, is also often called “potato blight”.
Why is Phytophthora infestans famous?
Phytophthora infestans causes serious losses of potato crops worldwide and is probably the most important pathogen of potato and tomato today. The disease, late blight, is famous for the destruction of the potato crops in Ireland in the 1840s and the resulting famine and death of over a million people.
How does Phytophthora infestans infect plants?
Tubers may be infected by P. infestans whenever sporangia and tubers come into contact, from early in the tuberization process until harvest. Infections most commonly occur when sporangia are washed from lesions on stems and foliage to the soil and then through the soil to tubers.
What kingdom is Phytophthora infestans in?
ChromistaPotato late blight fungus / Kingdom
Who discovered Phytophthora infestans?
The pathogen was first described by M. J. Berkeley (Figure 2A) and subsequently named Phytophthora infestans by Anton de Bary (Figure 2B) in the 1870’s (Berkeley, 1846; de Bary, 1876). de Bary’s (Figure 2B) (the “father of plant pathology”) conclusive studies convinced the scientific community that the white …
Why Oomycota are called egg fungi?
“Oomycota” means “egg fungi,” and refers to the large round oogonia, or structures containing the female gametes, as shown in this picture of the common “water mold” Saprolegnia. Oomycetes are oogamous, producing large non-motile gametes called eggs, and smaller gametes called sperm.
What is the most important species of Phytophthora infestation?
The most important species is Phytophthora infestans, which causes late blight disease of potato by which the Ireland famine took place in 1845. The pathogen is most destructive in low temperature and high humidity. Some other species of Phytophthora are also pathogenic to different hosts.
Is Phytophthora infestans a hemibiotroph?
Phytophthora infestans is a heterothallic oomycete, and it is a near-obligate hemibiotrophic pathogen under natural and agricultural conditions. The asexual cycle ( Fig. 1) enables dramatically rapid population growth in susceptible host tissue.
What can molecular biology and genomics tell us about Phytophthora infestans?
Phytophthora infestans remains a problem to production agriculture. Historically there have been many controversies concerning its biology and pathogenicity, some of which remain today. Advances in molecular biology and genomics promise to reveal fascinating insight into its pathogenicity and biology.
What is the best book on Phytophthora infestans?
Mol. Genet. Genomics, 275, 169 – 184 . De Bruyn, H.L.G. ( 1926) The overwintering of Phytophthora infestans (Mont.) De By. Phytopathology, 16, 121 – 140 . DeBary, A. ( 1876) Researches into the nature of the potato fungus Phytophthora infestans. J.