Plant/pathogen interactions observed during host range testing of the rust fungus <i>Uromyces pencanus</i>, a classical biological control agent for Chilean needle grass (<i>Nassella neesiana</i>) in Australia and New Zealand

Anderson, Freda E.; Gallego, Lucrecia; Sánchez, Romina M.; Flemmer, Andrea; Hansen, Paula V.; McLaren, David; Barton, Jane

doi:10.1080/09583157.2017.1384795

Cited by 10 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Only one inundative microbial agent, the Proteobacterium Xanthomonas campestris pv. poae, has been developed as a bioherbicide (Camperico™) for control for grasses, this being Poa annua L. in Japan (Imaizumi et al 1999;Anderson et al 2011Anderson et al , 2017Morin 2020).…”

Section: Inundative Biocontrolmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In these cases, risk assessments of the agent either required mitigation of infection risk to non-target plants or herbivore species in the form of agent distribution or application restrictions thereby reducing risk, or the agent itself had a low risk of infecting non-target species due to its biology. There have been examples of biocontrol agents being approved for release despite not having a singlespecies host range, including the aforementioned U. pencanus in New Zealand (Anderson et al 2017), and those in the Di-Bak© Parkinsonia formulation. The safe use of these agents was however dependent on risk analyses and/or the inoculation strategy used to reduce any potential off-target effects (Waipara et al 2009;Galea 2021).…”

Section: Adequate Host Range Testingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Biocontrol of weedy Sporobolus grasses in Australia using fungal pathogens

Steinrucken

Vitelli

2023

BioControl

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In Australia there are five weedy Sporobolus grass (WSG) species that heavily impact agricultural industries and native biodiversity. WSG have been the subject of several efforts to find host-specific pathogens with potential for classical and inundative biocontrol. Most of these studies are only discussed in unpublished reports or theses, so in this paper we synthesise the available peer-reviewed and ‘grey’ literature that discuss classical, augmentative and inundative biocontrol of WSG in Australia using fungal pathogens. We consider the hundreds of fungal pathogens previously isolated from Sporobolus hosts on an international and national scale. Of the pathogens investigated for WSG biocontrol previously, the only promising classical biocontrol agent was a smut fungus (Ustilago sporoboli-indici) from South Africa that is now present in Queensland and New South Wales, Australia. Its method of introduction to Australia is unknown. We hence discuss the history and potential for augmentative biocontrol of WSG using U. sporoboli-indici. Next, we summarise inundative biocontrol efforts. Several ascomycetes isolated from Australian WSG populations have been tested in this regard, including species of Nigrospora, Fusarium, Curvularia, Microdochium, Pestalotiopsis, and Neopestalotiopsis. However, a lack of host-specificity or efficacy subsequently precluded their further development, and potential improvements on those inundative biocontrol studies are discussed. Finally, we discuss a collection of endemic fungal taxa isolated from diseased Sporobolus in Australia, which are currently undergoing virulence, pathogenicity, and host-specificity screening as potential inundative biocontrol agents for WSG. Our intention is that the lessons learned from previous studies and summarised herein, will support ongoing development of WSG biocontrol agents in Australia, and more broadly, weed biocontrol using plant pathogens anywhere in the world.

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Section: Inundative Biocontrolmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Adequate Host Range Testingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biocontrol of weedy Sporobolus grasses in Australia using fungal pathogens

Steinrucken

Vitelli

2023

BioControl

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“…Surveys in the native range in Argentina since 1995 have found an additional 22 potential agents (Table 2). To date, only one of these agents, a fungus (Uromyces pencanus), has been approved for release after completion of host-specificity testing and is due for release in New Zealand pending export permits (Anderson et al 2017). Many of the potential agents on Nassella have been found to be host-specific to each species and therefore each Nassella species will likely require its own biocontrol agent.…”

Section: Biological Controlmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Fungus N. trichotoma Potential (Briese and Evans, 1998;Anderson et al, 2002;McLaren and Cowan, 2012 (Anderson et al, 2011(Anderson et al, , 2006) Puccinia nassellae (Pucciniaceae) Fungus N. neesiana, N. trichotoma Not host specific and not sufficiently pathogenic (Anderson et al, 2002;Anderson et al, 2011Anderson et al, , 2006McLaren and Cowan, 2012 (Briese and Evans, 1998;Anderson et al, 2006Anderson et al, , 2010Anderson et al, , 2011Anderson et al, , 2017Flemmer et al, 2010 (Briese and Evans, 1998;Anderson et al, 2002) ecological, economic, social and legal issues will probably be the most effective (Anderson et al, 2003;Early et al, 2016).…”

Section: Integrated Controlmentioning

confidence: 99%

The invasive grass genus Nassella in South Africa: A synthesis

Mapaura

Canavan

Richardson

et al. 2020

South African Journal of Botany

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Three species of Nassella have naturalized in South Africa. Nassella trichotoma and N. tenuissima are declared weeds under category 1b of the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act (NEM:BA) and occur mainly in the montane grasslands of the Western and Eastern Cape provinces. Nassella neesiana is not listed in NEM:BA but is naturalized in the Eastern Cape, Western Cape and Free State provinces. Research conducted in the 1970s and 1980s led to vigorous government-funded awareness and control campaigns which ended in 2000. No research on Nassella distribution or control has been undertaken since then. Despite this hiatus, Nassella remains a dangerous genus in southern Africa, given the serious impacts of these species in similar social-ecological systems in Australia and New Zealand. This paper presents a synthesis of available information about Nassella invasions in South Africa and identifies research gaps. It specifically addresses these questions: What identification issues exist? What is the current spatial distribution of Nassella? What is the autecology of the genus? What are the social-ecological impacts of Nassella? What control measures are currently applied and what are their strengths and limitations? What do we know about Nassella distribution and its response to climate change? This paper highlights many knowledge gaps about Nassella, such as the species' current distribution range, field identification and detection difficulties, and the uncoordinated control efforts that require urgent research to inform an effective management response.

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“…An example of the successful application of fungi as biocontrol agents is represented by Phragmidium violaceum, used to control invasive blackberry trees in Australia 22 . Similarly, the rust fungus Uromyces pencanus has been proposed as a promising biocontrol agent to reduce the spread of Nassella neesiana (Chilean needle grass), a grass species invasive to the southern hemisphere 23 .…”

Section: Under the Microscopementioning

confidence: 99%

Incorporating fungal community ecology into invasion biology: challenges and opportunities

Egidi

Franks

2018

Microbiol. Aust.

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Recently, the role of the plant-associated mycobiome (i.e. the fungal community) in influencing the competitive success of invasive plant species has received increasing attention. Fungi act as primary drivers of the plant invasion process due to their ability to form both beneficial and detrimental relationships with terrestrial plant species. Here we review the role of the plant mycobiome in promoting or inhibiting plant species invasion into foreign ecosystems. Moreover, the potential to exploit these relationships for invasive plant control and restoration of native communities is discussed. Incorporating fungal community ecology into invasion and restoration biology will aid in the management and control of invasive plant species in Australia.

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Plant/pathogen interactions observed during host range testing of the rust fungus Uromyces pencanus, a classical biological control agent for Chilean needle grass (Nassella neesiana) in Australia and New Zealand

Cited by 10 publications

References 17 publications

Biocontrol of weedy Sporobolus grasses in Australia using fungal pathogens

Biocontrol of weedy Sporobolus grasses in Australia using fungal pathogens

The invasive grass genus Nassella in South Africa: A synthesis

Incorporating fungal community ecology into invasion biology: challenges and opportunities

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