Fomitiporia mediterranea M. Fisch., the historical Esca agent: a comprehensive review on the main grapevine wood rot agent in Europe

Abstract

Fomitiporia mediterranea M. Fisch. (Fmed) is a basidiomycete first described in 2002, and was considered up to then as part of Fomitiporia punctata (P. Karst) Murrill. This fungus can degrade lignocellulosic biomass, causing white rot and leaving bleached fibrous host residues. In Europe Fmed is considered the main grapevine wood rot (Esca) agent within the Esca disease complex, which includes some of the most economically important Grapevine Trunk Diseases (GTDs). This review summarises and evaluates published research on Fmed, on white rot elimination by curettage or management by treatments with specific products applied to diseased grapevines, and on the relationship between wood symptoms and Grapevine Leaf Stripe Disease (GLSD) in the Esca disease complex. Information is also reviewed on the fungus biology, mechanisms of pathogenicity, and their possible relationships with external foliar symptoms of the Esca disease complex. Information on Fmed control strategies is also reviewed.

Activity of Trichoderma asperellum Strain ICC 012 and Trichoderma gamsii Strain ICC 080 Toward Diseases of Esca Complex and Associated Pathogens

“…The infected plants can show various types of symptoms in the canopy (among which the leaf stripe symptom is one of the most characteristic feature; Figure 1) and in the wood (wood rot and central and sectorial discolorations and necrosis) (Mugnai et al, 1999). The role of various pathogens associated to leaf symptoms has not been clarified completely yet, and the relationship with white rot presence and extent has recently been reviewed (Moretti et al, 2021). The leaf symptoms have been reproduced only on very few occasions by the inoculation of different pathogens (Sparapano et al, 2001;Reis et al, 2016;Markakis et al, 2017).…”

Assessment of a New Copper-Based Formulation to Control Esca Disease in Field and Study of Its Impact on the Vine Microbiome, Vine Physiology and Enological Parameters of the Juice

“…As regards the fungal communities, the degraded wood showed a very distinct profile in which the Basidiomycota was the higher phylum (Agaricomycetes class); interface wood was dominated by the Ascomycota phylum and the Eurotiomycetes class; while both heathy and healthy wood after 1 year showed a very similar profile dominated by the Ascomycota phylum and the Dothideomycetes class (Figure 9). At the species level, the degraded wood was dominated by Fomitiporia mediterranea, an Esca-associated pathogen [32]. The interface wood was characterized by Phaeomoniella chlamydospora with a similar incidence for both control and treated samples.…”

White Rot Fungi (Hymenochaetales) and Esca of Grapevine: Insights from Recent Microbiome Studies

“…Available evidence suggest that the answer may be yes, however, alternatives as effective as sodium arsenite are not yet available, and trunk surgery is an expensive and time-consuming technique not suitable for all vine growers. While chemical solutions are being developed, some of which showing promising results [16,17], preventing infections of Fmed by protecting fresh and old pruning wounds may be a solution worth investigating [23].…”

“…Details over the past and modern views of esca and leaf symptoms were examined by several authors, including [6,9,13,19,20], while the involvement of white rot fungi (Hymenochaetales) in grapevine trunk diseases has been reviewed by [21][22][23]. Mugnai et al [19] provided a detailed description of leaf symptoms, since their onset to the advanced stages, which we quote: symptoms on leaves consist of light green or chlorotic, rounded or irregular spots between the veins or along the leaf margins that usually spread outward to the distal parts of the shoots.…”