A Review of the Biology and Pathogenicity of Rosellinia necatrix– The Cause of White Root Rot Disease of Fruit Trees and Other Plants

Abstract

Rosellinia necatrix, an ascomycete soil-inhabiting fungus, causes white root rot disease in a large number of plant species, especially fruit trees. The fungus, which occurs worldwide, is very aggressive and can kill infected trees. The biology and pathogenicity of the fungus are reviewed here, together with the current principal methods of disease control used in different pathosystems.www.blackwell-synergy.com

Genetic analysis of barrage line formation during mycelial incompatibility in Rosellinia necatrix

“…Field studies indicate that white root rot pathogens extend mycelial strands and inhabit an ecological niche as primary decomposers of perennial hosts (Araki 1967;P erez-Jim enez 2006). Studies in both Japan and Spain revealed that isolates of white root rot fungi consist of numerous mycelial compatibility groups (MCGs) (P erez-Jim enez et al 2002;Ikeda et al 2004;L opez et al 2008;Armengol et al 2010).…”

Development of real-time PCR assay using TaqMan probe for detection and quantification of Rosellinia necatrix in plant and soil

“…DNA concentration was determined using Quant-iT DNA Assay kit with a Qubit fluorometer (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA, USA) by measuring absorbance at 260 nm. R. necatrix rarely forms pycnidia and conidia in vitro (Pérez-Jiménez 2006). Therefore, it is technically difficult to collect and prepare sufficient amounts of conidia of these fungi for all PCR assays.…”

“…Propagative plant materials are often claimed to facilitate fungal dissemination. Because the pathogen can survive for many years once established in the soil, promising measures to prevent the disease are the use of pathogen-free propagative materials and non-infested soils (Pérez-Jiménez 2006). Moreover, it is important to study the fungal population to understand the epidemiology of the disease.…”

Developing tools to unravel the biological secrets of Rosellinia necatrix, an emergent threat to woody crops

“…In this region, traditional crops, such as olives, almonds and vineyards, are being replaced by subtropical crops, such as avocado and mango. The inherent differences in watering, soil nutrition, crop management and other practices have been shown to play a role in the emergence of this pathogen (Pérez‐Jiménez, 2006).…”