Climate acts as an environmental filter to plant pathogens

Climate shapes the distribution of plant-associated microbes such as mycorrhizal and endophytic fungi. However, the role of climate in plant pathogen community assembly is less understood. Here, we explored the role of climate in the assembly of Phytophthora communities at >250 sites along a latitudinal gradient from Spain to northern Sweden and an altitudinal gradient from the Spanish Pyrenees to lowland areas. Communities were detected by ITS sequencing of river filtrates. Mediation analysis supported the role of climate in the biogeography of Phytophthora and ruled out other environmental factors such as geography or tree diversity. Comparisons of functional and species diversity showed that environmental filtering dominated over competitive exclusion in Europe. Temperature and precipitation acted as environmental filters at different extremes of the gradients. In northern regions, winter temperatures acted as an environmental filter on Phytophthora community assembly, selecting species adapted to survive low minimum temperatures. In southern latitudes, a hot dry climate was the main environmental filter, resulting in communities dominated by drought-tolerant Phytophthora species with thick oospore walls, a high optimum temperature for growth, and a high maximum temperature limit for growth. By taking a community ecology approach, we show that the establishment of Phytophthora plant pathogens in Europe is mainly restricted by cold temperatures

Skadegörarna utmanar skogen

Invasiva skadegörare är främmande arter som som hamnat i en ny miljö och därigenom ofta orsakar stor skada. Skadegörare i skog består till största delen av olika insekter och svamp-patogener som orsakar sjukdomar. Introduktionen av invasiva skadegörare till Europas skogar har mer än fördubblats under de senaste 100 åren. De invasiva skadegörarna sprids effektivt via handeln med växter och växtmaterial, men även i förpackningsmaterial, som lastpallar. Svamppatogener introduceras oftast genom import av levande plantor medan skadliga insekter som barkborrar och nematoder oftast transporteras med trä och träprodukter. Den potentiella kostnaden orsakade av invasiva skadegörare är enorm. Att hantera almsjukan, en patogen som påverkat ett trädslag med liten utbredning i Sverige, har uppskattats kosta 20-54 miljoner kronor per år. Inkluderas värdeförluster ökar kostnaden med upp till 37 gånger! Skulle de dominerande trädslagen gran eller tall hotas av en invasiv art på liknande sätt som almen skulle kostnaderna snabbt kunna blir mycket stora. Dessutom går stora värden i kulturlandskapet och i biologisk mångfald förlorade

Diplodia sapinea as a contributing factor in the crown dieback of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) after a severe drought

The frequency and impact of drought on global ecosystems have increased within the last century, while drought has affected tree health in many regions. Diplodia sapinea is a widespread, opportunistic pathogen infecting most conifers, causing Diplodia tip blight, thriving on hosts impacted by stress such as drought, heat, or mechanical wounding. In summer of 2018, a large-scale drought was recorded all over Europe. In late summer, pine trees all over Gotland showed crown dieback, where necrotic twigs and needles were found, especially in the upper part of the crowns. Symptoms were consistent with a potential outbreak of D. sapinea. Effects of the combination of drought and Diplodia tip blight on mortality or recovery of Scots pine in Nordic conditions are unknown. This study confirmed the presence and potential contribution of D. sapinea in the observed damages of Scots pine. Shoot blight and drought led to crown defoliation which was observed one year post-drought, while trees showed a clear recovery of newly grown shoots within the second year. Severely affected pines (>70% of the upper third of the crown with shoot blight) showed increased mortality. Recovery of the surviving trees was independent of previous dieback levels. Diplodia sapinea was most abundant in twigs with shoot blight of the symptomatic trees compared to healthy-looking twigs from the same trees and asymptomatic trees in affected and healthy pine stands. Sampling on affected and healthy sites showed possible endophytic infections with low abundance within healthy-looking twigs. Spore deposition of D. sapinea was monitored on healthy and affected sites for two consecutive years after crown damages occurred to confirm the presence of the opportunistic pathogen in the affected region. Spore deposition was observed during all seasons and correlated with high precipitation during sampling. Our observations provide insights into the emergence of Diplodia tip blight in the Northern countries and underline the potential impact of D. sapinea on tree health in the course of a changing climate

Multiple rearrangements and low inter- and intra-species mitogenome sequence variation in the Heterobasidion annosum s.l. species complex

IntroductionMitochondria are essential organelles in the eukaryotic cells and responsible for the energy production but are also involved in many other functions including virulence of some fungal species. Although the evolution of fungal mitogenomes have been studied at some taxonomic levels there are still many things to be learned from studies of closely related species. MethodsIn this study, we have analyzed 60 mitogenomes in the five species of the Heterobasidion annosum sensu lato complex that all are necrotrophic pathogens on conifers. Results and DiscussionCompared to other fungal genera the genomic and genetic variation between and within species in the complex was low except for multiple rearrangements. Several translocations of large blocks with core genes have occurred between the five species and rearrangements were frequent in intergenic areas. Mitogenome lengths ranged between 108 878 to 116 176 bp, mostly as a result of intron variation. There was a high degree of homology of introns, homing endonuclease genes, and intergenic ORFs among the five Heterobasidion species. Three intergenic ORFs with unknown function (uORF6, uORF8 and uORF9) were found in all five species and was located in conserved synteny blocks. A 13 bp long GC-containing self-complementary palindrome was discovered in many places in the five species that were optional in presence/absence. The within species variation is very low, among 48 H. parviporum mitogenomes, there was only one single intron exchange, and SNP frequency was 0.28% and indel frequency 0.043%. The overall low variation in the Heterobasidion annosum sensu lato complex suggests a slow evolution of the mitogenome

Foliar fungi of Betula pendula:impact of tree species mixtures and assessment methods

Foliar fungi of silver birch (Betula pendula) in an experimental Finnish forest were investigated across a gradient of tree species richness using molecular high-throughput sequencing and visual macroscopic assessment. We hypothesized that the molecular approach detects more fungal taxa than visual assessment, and that there is a relationship among the most common fungal taxa detected by both techniques. Furthermore, we hypothesized that the fungal community composition, diversity, and distribution patterns are affected by changes in tree diversity. Sequencing revealed greater diversity of fungi on birch leaves than the visual assessment method. One species showed a linear relationship between the methods. Species-specific variation in fungal community composition could be partially explained by tree diversity, though overall fungal diversity was not affected by tree diversity. Analysis of specific fungal taxa indicated tree diversity effects at the local neighbourhood scale, where the proportion of birch among neighbouring trees varied, but not at the plot scale. In conclusion, both methods may be used to determine tree diversity effects on the foliar fungal community. However, high-throughput sequencing provided higher resolution of the fungal community, while the visual macroscopic assessment detected functionally active fungal species