What is Phytophthora infestans?
Phytophthora infestans is a destructive plant pathogen best known for causing the disease that triggered the Irish potato famine and remains the most costly potato pathogen to manage worldwide.
What does Phytophthora infestans look like?
People can observe Phytophthora infestans produce dark green, then brown then black spots on the surface of potato leaves and stems, often near the tips or edges, where water or dew collects. The sporangia and sporangiophores appear white on the lower surface of the foliage.
What type of protist is Phytophthora infestans?
oomycete protist
Phytophtora infestans is an oomycete protist. P. infestans was originally thought to be a fungal species due to its filamentous structure and metabolic strategies, but recent biochemical and phylogenetic analyses has revealed that P.
What is the common name of Phytophthora infestans?
Potato late blight agent
Map to
Mnemonic i | PHYIN |
---|---|
Common name i | Potato late blight agent |
Synonym i | Botrytis infestans |
Other names i | ›Botrytis infestans Mont. 1845 ›Phytophthora infestans (Mont.) de Bary 1876 ›potato late blight ›potato late blight fungus |
Rank i | SPECIES |
What causes Phytophthora infestans?
The infection is caused by the zoospores found in the soil or that fall onto the tubers from infected foliage during harvest. Following germination the zoospores penetrate into the tubers through the “eyes”, lenticels, growth cracks, wounds, or via the point of attachment to the plant (the stolon) (Lapwood, 1977).
What kingdom is Phytophthora infestans in?
ChromistaPotato late blight fungus / Kingdom
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.
Is Phytophthora a protist?
Phytophthora species are in the oomycete group of fungi, often referred to as the water molds. The new classification of the oomycetes identifies these plant pathogens as similar to fungi; however, they are considered to be more like protists, a closely related class of organisms, rather than the true fungi.
What is the class of Phytophthora?
OomycetePhytophthora / Class
How is Phytophthora infestans transmitted?
P. infestans is thought to spread by mycelial growth within infected seed tubers, advancing contiguously or following growing shoots to produce spo- rangia capable of generating new infection foci (10,26,38).
What is the meaning Phytophthora?
Phytophthora (Fy-TOFF-thor-uh) species make up a group of microorganisms that are important plant pathogens. The name Phytophthora derives from Greek and literally means “plant destroyer.” Phytophthora species resemble fungi but are not.
Phytophthora infestans is an oomycete or water mold, a 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”., is also often called “potato blight”.
What does Phytophthora look like on potatoes?
Phytophthora infestans (Phytophthora blight); blighted potato tubers, showing typical reddish-brown ‘marbling’ of infected flesh. Phytophthora infestans (Phytophthora blight); blighted potato tubers, showing typical reddish-brown ‘marbling’ of infected flesh.
How can you tell the difference between tuber blight and Phytophthora infestation?
People can observe Phytophthora infestans produce sporangia and sporangiophores on the surface of potato stems and leaves. These sporangia and sporangiophores always appear on the lower surface of the foliage. As for tuber blight, the white mycelium often shows on the tubers’ surface.
Is Phytophthora infestans heterothallic or homothallic?
Heterothallic species can reproduce only if two different thalli interact from mating types A1 and A2 (14). Phytophthora infestans is heterothallic (6). Under cool wet conditions, Phytophthora oospores or chlamydospores which will germinate to form hyphae or directly produce sporangia.