Threats to global food security from emerging fungal and oomycete crop pathogens

Fones, Helen N.; Bebber, Daniel P.; Chaloner, Thomas; Kay, William T.; Steinberg, Gero; Gurr, Sarah J.

doi:10.1038/s43016-020-0075-0

Cited by 257 publications

(177 citation statements)

References 112 publications

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“…(iii) Dispersal/epidemiology (red boxes). Pathogens and infected hosts are disseminated globally via movement of infected biota ( 85 ), contamination of traded goods, or long-distance spore dispersal by, for example, airplanes or vectoring by hurricane winds ( 119 , 148 ). Fungi can persist long-term as resting spores or via saprophytic growth.…”

Section: Emerging Fungal Threats To Wildlifementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Global food insecurity, caused by infection and subsequent decimation of our crops, comes in two guises, as it derives from (i) pre- or postharvest loss of calorie crops—that is, loss of staples that provide calories for local and national consumption—and (ii) loss of commodity or cash crops, which are traded globally and where economies of whole countries depend upon export revenues to access food grown elsewhere in the world ( 119 ).…”

Section: Emerging Threats To Plantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Threats Posed by the Fungal Kingdom to Humans, Wildlife, and Agriculture

Fisher

Gurr

Cuomo

et al. 2020

mBio

Self Cite

295

199

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The fungal kingdom includes at least 6 million eukaryotic species and is remarkable with respect to its profound impact on global health, biodiversity, ecology, agriculture, manufacturing, and biomedical research. Approximately 625 fungal species have been reported to infect vertebrates, 200 of which can be human associated, either as commensals and members of our microbiome or as pathogens that cause infectious diseases. These organisms pose a growing threat to human health with the global increase in the incidence of invasive fungal infections, prevalence of fungal allergy, and the evolution of fungal pathogens resistant to some or all current classes of antifungals. More broadly, there has been an unprecedented and worldwide emergence of fungal pathogens affecting animal and plant biodiversity. Approximately 8,000 species of fungi and Oomycetes are associated with plant disease. Indeed, across agriculture, such fungal diseases of plants include new devastating epidemics of trees and jeopardize food security worldwide by causing epidemics in staple and commodity crops that feed billions. Further, ingestion of mycotoxins contributes to ill health and causes cancer. Coordinated international research efforts, enhanced technology translation, and greater policy outreach by scientists are needed to more fully understand the biology and drivers that underlie the emergence of fungal diseases and to mitigate against their impacts. Here, we focus on poignant examples of emerging fungal threats in each of three areas: human health, wildlife biodiversity, and food security.

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Section: Emerging Fungal Threats To Wildlifementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Emerging Threats To Plantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Threats Posed by the Fungal Kingdom to Humans, Wildlife, and Agriculture

Fisher

Gurr

Cuomo

et al. 2020

mBio

Self Cite

295

199

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show abstract

“…Mycotoxins are the natural contaminants in food and feed worldwide. Changing climatic patterns have significantly affected the agricultural production due to limiting water, and land resources, temperature extremes and elevated humidity conditions [ 61 ]. The elevated humidity and temperature allowed for the proficient growth of a variety of mycotoxigenic fungal genera, Aspergillus spp., Penicillium spp., and Fusarium spp.…”

Section: Nanocomposites and Their Mode Of Action On The Fungal Phymentioning

confidence: 99%

Nanohybrid Antifungals for Control of Plant Diseases: Current Status and Future Perspectives

Alghuthaymi

Rajkuberan

Periakaruppan

et al. 2021

JoF

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The changing climatic conditions have led to the concurrent emergence of virulent microbial pathogens that attack crop plants and exhibit yield and quality deterring impacts on the affected crop. To counteract, the widespread infections of fungal pathogens and post-harvest diseases it is highly warranted to develop sustainable techniques and tools bypassing traditional agriculture practices. Nanotechnology offers a solution to the problems in disease management in a simple lucid way. These technologies are revolutionizing the scientific/industrial sectors. Likewise, in agriculture, the nano-based tools are of great promise particularly for the development of potent formulations ensuring proper delivery of agrochemicals, nutrients, pesticides/insecticides, and even growth regulators for enhanced use efficiency. The development of novel nanocomposites for improved management of fungal diseases can mitigate the emergence of resilient and persistent fungal pathogens and the loss of crop produce due to diseases they cause. Therefore, in this review, we collectively manifest the role of nanocomposites for the management of fungal diseases.

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“…pauca (Schneider et al, 2020), are current examples of invasive plant diseases that have been detected outside their native habitat and have triggered costly emergency responses. When introduced into a new territory, invasive plant diseases can pose a significant risk to crop production and ecosystem services (Boyd et al, 2013;Paini et al, 2016;Simberloff et al, 2013), and they can be a major threat to food security, as they can limit the availability, quality and/or economic access to food (Fones et al, 2020;Savary et al, 2017). Because of these threats, many studies have been devoted to understanding the spread of plant diseases and developing management strategies, but fewer studies have examined how people coordinate efforts when implementing those strategies (McAllister et al, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Institutional approaches for plant health provision as a collective action problem

et al. 2021

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The provision of plant health has public good attributes when nobody can be excluded from enjoying its benefits and individual benefits do not reduce the ability of others to also benefit. These attributes increase risk of free-riding on plant health services provided by others, giving rise to a collective action problem when trying to ensure plant health in a region threatened by an emerging plant disease. This problem has traditionally been addressed by government intervention, but top-down approaches to plant health are often insufficient and are increasingly combined with bottom-up approaches that promote self-organization by affected individuals. The challenge is how to design plant health institutions that effectively deal with the spatial and temporal dynamics of plant diseases, while staying aligned with the preferences, values and needs of affected societies. Here, we illustrate how Ostrom’s design principles for collective action can be used to guide the incorporation of bottom-up approaches to plant health governance in order to improve institutional fit. Using the ongoing epidemic of huanglongbing (HLB) as a case study, we examine existing institutions designed to ensure citrus health under HLB in Brazil, Mexico, the United States and Argentina, and discuss potential implications of Ostrom’s design principles for the collective provision of plant health under HLB and other plant diseases that are threatening food security worldwide. The discussion leads to an outline for the interdisciplinary research agenda that would be needed to establish the link between institutional approaches and plant health outcomes in the context of global food security.

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Threats to global food security from emerging fungal and oomycete crop pathogens

Cited by 257 publications

References 112 publications

Threats Posed by the Fungal Kingdom to Humans, Wildlife, and Agriculture

Threats Posed by the Fungal Kingdom to Humans, Wildlife, and Agriculture

Nanohybrid Antifungals for Control of Plant Diseases: Current Status and Future Perspectives

Institutional approaches for plant health provision as a collective action problem

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