Phytophthora niederhauserii sp. nov., a polyphagous species associated with ornamentals, fruit trees and native plants in 13 countries.

A non-papillate, heterothallic Phytophthora species first isolated in 2001 and subsequently from symptomatic roots, crowns and stems of 33 plant species in 25 unrelated botanical families from 13 countries is formally described here as a new species. Symptoms on various hosts included crown and stem rot, chlorosis, wilting, leaf blight, cankers and gumming. This species was isolated from Australia, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, South Africa, Spain, Taiwan, Turkey, the United Kingdom and United States in association with shrubs and herbaceous ornamentals grown mainly in greenhouses. The most prevalent hosts are English ivy (Hedera helix) and Cistus (Cistus salvifolius). The association of the species with acorn banksia (Banksia prionotes) plants in natural ecosystems in Australia, in affected vineyards (Vitis vinifera) in South Africa and almond (Prunus dulcis) trees in Spain and Turkey in addition to infection of shrubs and herbaceous ornamentals in a broad range of unrelated families are a sign of a wide ecological adaptation of the species and its potential threat to agricultural and natural ecosystems. The morphology of the persistent non-papillate ellipsoid sporangia, unique toruloid lobate hyphal swellings and amphigynous antheridia does not match any of the described species. Phylogenetic analysis based on sequences of the ITS rDNA, EF-1α, and ß-tub supported that this organism is a hitherto unknown species. It is closely related to species in ITS clade 7b with the most closely related species being P. sojae. The name Phytophthora niederhauserii has been used in previous studies without the formal description of the holotype. This name is validated in this manuscript with the formal description of Phytophthora niederhauserii Z.G. Abad et J.A. Abad, sp. nov. The name is coined to honor Dr John S. Niederhauser, a notable plant pathologist and the 1990 World Food Prize laureate.

Morphological and molecular characterization of Phytophthora glovera sp. nov. from tobacco in Brazil.

A root rot disease of cultivated tobacco called yellow stunt has been observed in the burley tobacco production areas of Brazil since the early 1990s. Root infecting fungi and straminipiles were isolated from the roots of diseased tobacco plants, including a semi-papillate, homothallic, slow growing Phytophthora species. Pathogenicity trials confirmed that Phytophthora sp. caused root rot and stunting of burley and flue-cured tobaccos. Morphological characteristics of the asexual and sexual stages of this organism did not match any reported Phytophthora species and were very different from the widely known tobacco black shank pathogen P. nicotianae. Phylogenetic analysis based on sequences of the internal transcribed spacer rDNA, ß-tubulin and translation elongation factor 1-α regions indicated that this organism represents a previously unreported Phytophthora species that is significantly supported in clade 2 and most closely related to P. capsici. However P. glovera differs from P. capsici in a number of morphological characters, most significantly P. glovera is homothallic and produces both paragynous and amphigynous antheridia while P. capsici is heterothallic and produces only amphigynous antheridia. In this paper we confirmed pathogenicity of this species on tobacco and describe the morphological and molecular characteristics of Phytophthora glovera sp. nov.

Multiplex real-time PCR for detection, identification and quantification of 'Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum' in potato plants with zebra chip.

The new Liberibacter species, 'Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum' (Lso) recently associated with potato/tomato psyllid-transmitted diseases in tomato and capsicum in New Zealand, was found to be consistently associated with a newly emerging potato zebra chip (ZC) disease in Texas and other southwestern states in the USA. A species-specific primer LsoF was developed for both quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) and conventional PCR (cPCR) to detect and quantify Lso in infected samples. In multiplex qPCR, a plant cytochrome oxidase (COX)-based probe-primer set was used as a positive internal control for host plants, which could be used to reliably access the DNA extraction quality and to normalize qPCR data for accurate quantification of the bacterial populations in environment samples. Neither the qPCR nor the cPCR using the primer and/or probe sets with LsoF reacted with other Liberibacter species infecting citrus or other potato pathogens. The low detection limit of the multiplex qPCR was about 20 copies of the target 16S rDNA templates per reaction for field samples. Lso was readily detected and quantified in various tissues of ZC-affected potato plants collected from fields in Texas. A thorough but uneven colonization of Lso was revealed in various tissues of potato plants. The highest Lso populations were about 3x10(8) genomes/g tissue in the root, which were 3-order higher than those in the above-ground tissues of potato plants. The Lso bacterial populations were normally distributed across the ZC-affected potato plants collected from fields in Texas, with 60% of ZC-affected potato plants harboring an average Lso population from 10(5) to 10(6) genomes/g tissue, 4% of plants hosting above 10(7) Lso genomes/g tissue, and 8% of plants holding below 10(3) Lso genomes/g tissue. The rapid, sensitive, specific and reliable multiplex qPCR showed its potential to become a powerful tool for early detection and quantification of the new Liberibacter species associated with potato ZC, and will be very useful for the potato quarantine programs and seed potato certification programs to ensure the availability of clean seed potato stocks and also for epidemiological studies on the disease.

Phytophthora bisheria sp. nov., a new species identified in isolates from the Rosaceous raspberry, rose and strawberry in three continents.

A homothallic semipapillate slow growing Phytophthora species associated with root rot of strawberries from greenhouse-grown plants in North Carolina, USA, root rot of roses in the Netherlands, and root rot of raspberry in Knoxfield, Australia, was identified. The main character of this organism is the production of paragynous antheridia with broad attachment to the oogonial wall. The morphology of the pathogen does not match that of any of the more than 85 described Phytophthora species. Phylogenetic analysis based on sequences of the internal transcribed spacer rDNA region (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2) of this taxon and those from other Phytophthora species from GenBank supports the conclusion that this organism is an unreported new species. In the phylogenetic tree with other reported Phytophthora species at the GenBank, the new species is more closely related to others in ITS clade 2 comprising semipapillate taxa including P. botryosa, P. citrophthora, P. colocasiae, P. meadii, P. citricola, P. inflata, P.tropicalis, P. capsici, Phytophthora sp. 'glovera' and P. multivesiculata. The most closely related species is P. multivesiculata isolated from Cymbidium orchid in the Netherlands. In this paper we describe the morphological characteristics and the phylogenetic relationships that support the description of this taxon as a new species Phytophthora bisheria sp. nov.

Pierce's Disease of Grapevines: Identification of the Primary Vectors in North Carolina.

ABSTRACT In the past 10 years, the winegrape industry in the southeastern United States has experienced rapid growth; however, further expansion may be inhibited by Pierce's disease (PD). Epidemiological studies were conducted to identify the primary vectors of Xylella fastidiosa, the cause of PD of grape, by surveying sharpshooter population dynamics in the eastern Piedmont and Coastal Plain regions of North Carolina. Sharpshooter species were assessed for the presence of X. fastidiosa in the field. Leafhoppers were trapped in three vineyards in the eastern Piedmont and one vineyard in the northeastern Coastal Plain in 2004 and 2005. Four insects were identified as most abundant: Oncometopia orbona, Graphocephala versuta, Paraphlepsius irroratus, and Agalliota constricta. Adult specimens of O. orbona, G. versuta, and P. irroratus were tested for the presence of X. fastidiosa by nested polymerase chain reaction. In all, 27% of O. orbona, 28% of G. versuta, and 33% of P. irroratus trapped were positive for X. fastidiosa over the two seasons. Transmission experiments demonstrated that both O. orbona and G. versuta have the ability to transmit X. fastidiosa to grape. These vectors are likely to be important in all winegrowing regions of the Southeast, because their presence has been documented throughout the southern states. In DNA analyses, X. fastidiosa strains from insects trapped in North Carolina were genetically similar to one another and to the known "PD strain" from California. This is the first report of these two leafhopper species transmitting X. fastidiosa to grapevines in the Southeast.