Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 15, 2025
13:54
Tractable Mammalian Cell Infections with Protozoan-primed Bacteria
Published on: April 2, 2013
10.5K
Diplodia tip blight pathogen's virulence empowered through host switch.
Kathrin Blumenstein1,2, Johanna Bußkamp3, Gitta Jutta Langer3
1Forest Pathology Research Group, Department of Forest Botany and Tree Physiology, Faculty of Forest Sciences and Forest Ecology, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
Frontiers in Fungal Biology
|September 25, 2023
Summary
Drought stress favors the fungal pathogen Diplodia sapinea in Scots pine forests. Strains from non-pine hosts caused the most damage, indicating climate change will increase tree mortality.
Area of Science:
- Forest pathology
- Plant-pathogen interactions
- Climate change impacts on ecosystems
Background:
- Forest health is threatened by increasing drought and emerging pathogens.
- Diplodia sapinea (≡ Sphaeropsis sapinea) is a significant pathogen of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris), causing Diplodia tip blight.
- D. sapinea has been found on non-conifer hosts, suggesting a broader host range.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the impact of water availability on necrosis length caused by D. sapinea strains from different hosts (endophytes, pathogens, non-pine hosts).
- To assess the role of D. sapinea in Scots pine under drought stress and potential host-switching scenarios.
Main Methods:
- Isolation of D. sapinea strains from asymptomatic and symptomatic Scots pine, and symptomatic non-pine hosts.
- Inoculation of Scots pine shoots with D. sapinea strains under varying water availability conditions.
- Measurement of necrosis length to quantify disease severity.
Main Results:
- Decreased water availability significantly increased necrosis length in Scots pine shoots for all tested D. sapinea strains.
- Isolates from non-pine hosts consistently caused the most severe necrosis across all water availability levels.
- Strains that had undergone a host switch induced higher necrosis in Scots pine.
Conclusions:
- Climatic changes, particularly drought, are likely to exacerbate D. sapinea damage and increase mortality in Scots pine forests.
- The increased virulence of non-pine host-derived strains poses a significant threat to Scots pine, increasing infection pressure from novel sources.
- Future forest management strategies must consider the adaptive potential of D. sapinea and its implications under changing environmental conditions.
Keywords:
Diplodia sapineaPinus sylvestrisSphaeropsis sapineaclimate changeconifershost-passagesymptomatic and asymptomatic infectionswater-stressMore Related Videos
11:50Bacterial Leaf Infiltration Assay for Fine Characterization of Plant Defense Responses using the Arabidopsis thaliana-Pseudomonas syringae Pathosystem
Published on: October 1, 2015
21.9K
13:56A Comparative Approach to Characterize the Landscape of Host-Pathogen Protein-Protein Interactions
Published on: July 18, 2013
11.2K
Related Concept Videos
01:27Diversity of Protists II
33
Alveolates are a group of organisms recognized by the presence of alveoli, which are cytoplasmic sacs located beneath the cell membrane. While their function remains uncertain, alveoli may help regulate water balance by controlling how much water enters and leaves the cell. In dinoflagellates, these structures may serve as armor plates. There are three major types of alveolates: ciliates, which move using cilia; dinoflagellates, which use flagella for movement; and apicomplexans, which are...
33
01:31Defense Against Bacterial Pathogens
1.4K
The human immune system is a complex network of cells, tissues, and organs that work together to defend the body against bacterial infections. It consists of various immune cells, each playing a specific role in the defense mechanism.
Phagocytes
Phagocytes are the frontline soldiers of the immune system. They include neutrophils and macrophages. Neutrophils are the most abundant type of white blood cell and are quickly mobilized to the site of infection. Macrophages are larger cells that patrol...
Phagocytes
Phagocytes are the frontline soldiers of the immune system. They include neutrophils and macrophages. Neutrophils are the most abundant type of white blood cell and are quickly mobilized to the site of infection. Macrophages are larger cells that patrol...
1.4K
01:16Transduction
32
Among the three main modes of HGT—transformation, conjugation, and transduction—transduction is unique in that it is mediated by bacteriophages, or bacterial viruses.Transduction occurs in two ways. Generalized transduction occurs during the lytic cycle of a bacteriophage infection. In this process, bacteriophages infect bacterial cells, replicate within them, and ultimately cause cell lysis, releasing newly assembled virions. Occasionally, random fragments of the bacterial genome...
32
01:20Infection
8.1K
When a pathogen enters the body and reproduces, it can cause an infection, damage body cells, and cause illness symptoms that eventually lead to disease. Therefore, its prevention requires breaking the chain of infection.
The chain begins with pathogens: bacteria, viruses, fungi, prions, or parasites such as protozoa helminths. These can be present on the skin as transient or resident flora, or they can be acquired from the environment. Identifying and treating the type of infection and...
The chain begins with pathogens: bacteria, viruses, fungi, prions, or parasites such as protozoa helminths. These can be present on the skin as transient or resident flora, or they can be acquired from the environment. Identifying and treating the type of infection and...
8.1K
02:26Defenses Against Pathogens and Herbivores
23.8K
Plants present a rich source of nutrients for many organisms, making it a target for herbivores and infectious agents. Plants, though lacking a proper immune system, have developed an array of constitutive and inducible defenses to fend off these attacks.
23.8K
00:43Lysogenic Cycle of Bacteriophages
62.3K
In contrast to the lytic cycle, phages infecting bacteria via the lysogenic cycle do not immediately kill their host cell. Instead, they combine their genome with the host genome, allowing the bacteria to replicate the phage DNA along with the bacterial genome. The incorporated copy of the phage genome is called the prophage. Some prophages can re-activate and enter the lytic cycle. This often occurs in response to a perturbation, such as DNA damage, but can also transpire in the absence of...
62.3K