No abstract

Phytophthora capsici is a soilborne oomycete plant pathogen that causes severe vegetable crop losses in New York (NY) State and worldwide. This pathogen is difficult to manage, in part due to its production of long-lasting sexual spores and its tendency to quickly evolve fungicide resistance. We single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyped 252 P. capsici isolates, predominantly from NY, in order to conduct a genome-wide association study for mating type and mefenoxam sensitivity. The population structure and extent of chromosomal copy number variation in this collection of isolates were also characterized. Population structure analyses showed isolates largely clustered by the field site where they were collected, with values of FST between pairs of fields ranging from 0.10 to 0.31. Thirty-three isolates were putative aneuploids, demonstrating evidence for having up to four linkage groups present in more than two copies, and an additional two isolates appeared to be genome-wide triploids. Mating type was mapped to a region on scaffold 4, consistent with previous findings, and mefenoxam sensitivity was associated with several SNP markers at a novel locus on scaffold 62. We identified several candidate genes for mefenoxam sensitivity, including a homolog of yeast ribosome synthesis factor Rrp5, but failed to locate near the scaffold 62 locus any subunits of RNA Polymerase I, the hypothesized target site of phenylamide fungicides in oomycetes. This work expands our knowledge of the population biology of P. capsici and provides a foundation for functional validation of candidate genes associated with epidemiologically important phenotypes.

Phytophthora crown and root rot, caused by the oomycete pathogen Phytophthora capsici, is a devastating disease of squash and pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo). No currently available cultivars provide complete resistance to this disease. Three newly developed squash lines and four hybrids were evaluated in greenhouse and field experiments for their resistance to phytophthora crown and root rot as well as for their horticultural performance. The three newly developed lines ranked among the most resistant entries included in 2 years of field trials. In addition, in a separate greenhouse experiment, one of the lines was shown to display the least severe disease symptoms among a group of accessions previously reported to possess partial resistance to phytophthora crown and root. Furthermore, the resistance was observed to be robust to several isolates of P. capsici. However, the phytophthora-resistant lines had reduced yield relative to standard squash cultivars. These lines are useful for continued breeding efforts toward a phytophthora crown and root rot-resistant cultivar.

High tunnels extend the growing season of high value crops, including tomatoes, but the environmental conditions within high tunnels favor the spread of the tomato leaf mold pathogen, Passalora fulva (syn. Cladosporium fulvum). Tomato leaf mold results in defoliation, and if severe, losses in yield. Despite substantial research, little is known regarding the genetic structure and diversity of populations of P. fulva associated with high tunnel tomato production in the United States. From 2016 to 2019, a total of 50 P. fulva isolates were collected from tomato leaf samples in high tunnels in the Northeast and Minnesota. Other Cladosporium species were also isolated from the leaf surfaces. Koch’s postulates were conducted to confirm that P. fulva was the cause of the disease symptoms observed. Race determination experiments revealed that the isolates belonged to either race 0 (six isolates) or race 2 (44 isolates). Polymorphisms were identified within four previously characterized effector genes Avr2, Avr4, Avr4e, and Avr9. The largest number of polymorphisms were observed for Avr2. Both mating type genes, MAT1-1-1 and MAT1-2-1, were present in the isolate collection. For further insights into the pathogen diversity, the 50 isolates were genotyped at 7,514 single-nucleotide polymorphism loci using genotyping-by-sequencing: differentiation by region but not by year was observed. Within the collection of 50 isolates, there were 18 distinct genotypes. Information regarding P. fulva population diversity will enable better management recommendations for growers, as high tunnel production of tomatoes expands.