Pythium periplocum, an aggressive mycoparasite of Botrytis cinerea causing the gray mould disease of grape-vine

Abstract

Pythium periplocum Dreschler has been found to be an aggressive mycoparasite of Botrytis cinerea, the causal agent of the gray mould disease of the grape-vine. When grown together, the former enters the latter's mycelium, branches freely within, coagulates its cytoplasm and finally tears its hyphae apart, bringing about widespread destruction of the grape-vine pathogen. Extensive coiling around the host, as reported in the case of other mycoparasites belonging to the genus Pythium, has not been observed here. The infected mycelium of B. cinerea fails to infect the grape-vine and does not induce the characteristic gray mould symptoms. Since P. periplocum is not a grape-vine parasite, it could be useful for the biological control of B. cinerea. A brief account of this mycoparasitism is discussed in this article. ß

Mycoparasitic actions against fungi and oomycetes by a strain (CCFEE 5003) of the fungusLecanicillium muscarium isolated in Continental Antarctica

“…Always, when the organisms came in contact with L. muscarium CCFEE 5003 they were disrupted. The parasitic action appeared particularly effective being exerted also against P. aphanidermatum that is itself a mycoparasite (Paul, 1999). The results of this study show that the Antarctic fungus L. muscarium CCFEE 5003 could be considered a promising mycoparasitic organism to be used with pathogenic fungi and, above all, oomycetes.…”

“…Others (Benhamu and Chet, 1993;Inbar et al, 1996;Calistru et al, 1997) relate the mycoparasitism to typical actions such as coiling around and penetration into the host; production of lytic enzymes was also mentioned. Sometime, mycoparasitism is simply defined as the attack of a fungus against other fungi (Paul, 1999). Most authors, however, agree that a firm contact between the two organisms must occur (Benhamu and Chet, 1993;Inbar et al, 1996;Calistru et al, 1997).…”

ITS region of Pythium canariense sp. nov., its morphology and its interaction with Botrytis cinerea

“…P. canariense is also an excellent antagonist to B. cinerea as it stops the growth and sporulation of the grey mould pathogen. It has the same degree of antagonism towards B. cinerea as shown with the mycoparasite Pythium periplocum [14]. The enzymatic characteristics of this fungus and its behaviour towards the suppression of the grey mould disease of the grapevine have been studied and will be the subject of a later publication.…”

The Taxonomy and Biology of Phytophthora and Pythium

“…59 There are some mycoparasitic species of Pythium, capable of controlling plant diseases due to other fungi. 60,61 In fact, a pesticide has been developed from Pythium oligandrum and marketed for seed dressing, overhead spraying and soil drenches. In addition, other species of Pythium are entomopathogenic and can be used as biological control of mosquitoes and other harmful insects.…”