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Physiological, Biochemical and Ecological Effects of Diseases on Plants
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Physiological, Biochemical and Ecological Effects of Diseases on Plants

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Protection and Biotic Interactions".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2025) | Viewed by 3577

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Zorana Katanić

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biology, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, Cara Hadrijana 8a, 31000 Osijek, Croatia
Interests: plant pathology; genetic diversity of plant pathogens; plant-pathogen interactions; biological control of plant diseases; plant physiology
Dr. Rosemary Vuković

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biology, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, Cara Hadrijana 8/A, 31000 Osijek, Croatia
Interests: plant physiology; molecular and biochemical response to biotic and abiotic stress in plants; plant-pathogen interactions; biofortification
Dr. Mirna Ćurković-Perica

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Division of Microbiology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, HR-10000, Zagreb, Croatia
Interests: plant pathogens; pathogens identification; pathogens diversity; pathogens interactions with the plant hosts; biocontrol of phytopathogens

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to invite you to submit short communications, research, or review articles to the Special Issue entitled “Physiological, Biochemical and Ecological Effects of Diseases on Plants”.

Plants are constantly exposed to different types of stress with a wide range of effects on plant development and growth, usually categorised as abiotic or biotic stress. Biotic stress results from infections by different types of pathogens that induce specific host defence mechanisms. In their natural habitat, plants are usually exposed to more than one type of stress, so plant diseases are associated with a specific combination of environmental factors that can alter the plant’s responses to pathogen attack and vice versa. Studying the complexity of plant diseases is equally important in both cultivated and wild species. Detailed knowledge of plant–pathogen interactions and the effects of plant diseases is required in agronomy and forestry for efficient disease control management, while studies in natural populations provide insight into the ecological implications of plant diseases and the effects of phytopathogens on plant distribution, diversity and evolution. Therefore, this Special Issue aims to bring together the latest research on the effects of disease on plants at different levels, from physiological and biochemical changes in specific genotypes to broad ecological effects on plant species and ecosystems.

Dr. Zorana Katanić
Dr. Rosemary Vuković
Dr. Mirna Ćurković-Perica
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Plants is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • biotic stress
  • plant–pathogen interaction
  • oxidative stress
  • antioxidative response
  • carbohydrate metabolism
  • secondary metabolism
  • defence signalling pathways
  • stress-responsive genes
  • plant disease
  • hypersensitive reaction
  • disease tolerance/resistance
  • physiological response
  • resistance breeding
  • disease ecology
  • plant disease management

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 49507 KiB  
Article
Elevated Atmospheric CO2 Concentrations Reduce Tomato Mosaic Virus Severity in Tomato Plants
by Giovanni Marino, Andrea Carli, Antonio Raschi, Mauro Centritto, Emanuela Noris, Chiara D’Errico and Slavica Matić
Plants 2025, 14(5), 811; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14050811 - 5 Mar 2025
Viewed by 637
Abstract
Tomato mosaic disease, caused by tomato mosaic virus (ToMV), was studied under naturally elevated [CO2] concentrations to simulate the potential impacts of future climate scenarios on the ToMV–tomato pathosystem. Tomato plants infected with ToMV were cultivated under two distinct [CO2 [...] Read more.
Tomato mosaic disease, caused by tomato mosaic virus (ToMV), was studied under naturally elevated [CO2] concentrations to simulate the potential impacts of future climate scenarios on the ToMV–tomato pathosystem. Tomato plants infected with ToMV were cultivated under two distinct [CO2] environments: elevated [CO2] (naturally enriched to approximately 1000 μmol mol−1) and ambient [CO2] (ambient atmospheric [CO2] of 420 μmol mol−1). Key parameters, including phytopathological (disease index, ToMV gene expression), growth-related (plant height, leaf area), and physiological traits (chlorophyll content, flavonoid levels, nitrogen balance index), were monitored to assess the effects of elevated [CO2]. Elevated [CO2] significantly reduced the disease index from 2.4 under ambient [CO2] to 1.7 under elevated [CO2]. Additionally, viral RNA expression was notably lower in plants grown at elevated [CO2] compared to those under ambient [CO2]. While ToMV infection led to reductions in the chlorophyll content and nitrogen balance index and an increase in the flavonoid levels under ambient [CO2], these physiological effects were largely mitigated under elevated [CO2]. Infected plants grown at elevated [CO2] showed values for these parameters that approached those of healthy plants grown under ambient [CO2]. These findings demonstrate that elevated [CO2] helps to mitigate the effects of tomato mosaic disease and contribute to understanding how future climate scenarios may influence the tomato–ToMV interaction and other plant–pathogen interactions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physiological, Biochemical and Ecological Effects of Diseases on Plants)
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13 pages, 2360 KiB  
Article
Selecting South American Popcorn Germplasm for Bipolaris maydis Resistance at Contrasting Nitrogen Levels
by Yure P. Souza, Gabriel M. B. Gonçalves, Julio C. G. Saluci, Rafael N. Almeida, Juliana S. Santos, Hércules S. Pereira, Rysley F. Souza, Ana Lucia R. Souza, Luana C. Vasconcelos, Marcelo S. Andrade, Jr., Antonio T. Amaral, Jr. and Marcelo Vivas
Plants 2025, 14(3), 302; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14030302 - 21 Jan 2025
Viewed by 722
Abstract
Nitrogen (N) availability plays a crucial role in plant development. However, studies indicate that the pathosystem of pathogenic fungi, such as Bipolaris maydis, which causes Southern Corn Leaf Blight (SCLB) in popcorn, interacts with N availability. Therefore, this study seeks to select [...] Read more.
Nitrogen (N) availability plays a crucial role in plant development. However, studies indicate that the pathosystem of pathogenic fungi, such as Bipolaris maydis, which causes Southern Corn Leaf Blight (SCLB) in popcorn, interacts with N availability. Therefore, this study seeks to select popcorn inbred lines (ILs), considering contrasting environments regarding N availability (low N—LN and optimal N—ON). For this, 90 ILs from 16 populations from tropical and temperate climates from South America were evaluated in five experiments using a randomized complete block design (three replications), with four common controls. From the tests, the level of severity of the ILs to SCLB was evaluated. Three trials showed greater severity in ON, one trial had higher severity in LN, and one trial did not show significant differences. However, the genotype x nitrogen level (GxN) interaction was always present. Of the 90 ILs, 73 showed resistance in both N levels, three only in LN, and four only in ON, while 10 were susceptible in both environments. On average, the lines were more susceptible in ON, and the observed GxN interactions indicate that there is a distinct behavior of the genotypes regarding the response to N in the soil, which reinforces the importance of selection in contrasting environments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physiological, Biochemical and Ecological Effects of Diseases on Plants)
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26 pages, 8241 KiB  
Article
A Zinc Polyphenolic Compound Increases Maize Resistance Against Infection by Bipolaris maydis
by Luis Felipe Lata-Tenesaca, Marcos José Barbosa Oliveira, Aline Vieira Barros, Leandro Castro Silva, João Américo Wordell Filho and Fabrício Ávila Rodrigues
Plants 2025, 14(1), 77; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14010077 - 30 Dec 2024
Viewed by 719
Abstract
Maize leaf blight (MLB), caused by the fungus Bipolaris maydis, is an important disease affecting maize production. In order to minimize the use of fungicides in agriculture, nutrient-based resistance inducers may become a promising alternative to manage MLB. The goal of this [...] Read more.
Maize leaf blight (MLB), caused by the fungus Bipolaris maydis, is an important disease affecting maize production. In order to minimize the use of fungicides in agriculture, nutrient-based resistance inducers may become a promising alternative to manage MLB. The goal of this study was to investigate the potential of Semia® (zinc (20%) complexed with a plant-derived pool of polyphenols (10%)) to hamper the infection of maize leaves by B. maydis by analyzing their photosynthetic performance and carbohydrate and antioxidative metabolism, as well as the expression of defense-related genes. Plants were sprayed with water (control) or Semia® (referred to as induced resistance (IR) stimulus hereafter) and not inoculated or inoculated with B. maydis. The mycelial growth and conidium germination were significantly reduced by the IR stimulus in vitro. The MLB severity was significantly reduced by 76% for IR-stimulus-sprayed plants compared to plants from the control treatment. For infected and IR-stimulus-sprayed plants, the glucose, fructose, sucrose, and starch concentrations were significantly higher compared to inoculated plants from the control treatment. The activity levels of superoxide dismutase, ascorbate peroxidase, catalase, and glutathione reductase were significantly higher for the IR-stimulus-sprayed plants compared to plants from the control treatment. Less impairment on the photosynthetic apparatus (higher values for leaf gas exchange (rates of net CO2 assimilation, stomatal conductance to water vapor, and transpiration) and chlorophyll a fluorescence (variable-to-maximum Chl a fluorescence ratio, photochemical yield, and yield for dissipation by down-regulation) parameters)) along with a preserved pool of chlorophyll a+b and carotenoids were noticed for infected and IR-stimulus-sprayed plants compared to infected plants from the control treatment. The defense-related genes IGL, CHS02, PR1, PAL3, CHI, and GLU were strongly up-regulated in the leaves of IR-stimulus-sprayed and infected plants compared to infected plants from the control treatment. These findings highlight the potential of using this IR stimulus for MLB management. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physiological, Biochemical and Ecological Effects of Diseases on Plants)
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14 pages, 2090 KiB  
Article
Regional Variability of Chestnut (Castanea sativa) Tolerance Toward Blight Disease
by Marin Ježić, Lucija Nuskern, Karla Peranić, Maja Popović, Mirna Ćurković-Perica, Ozren Mendaš, Ivan Škegro, Igor Poljak, Antonio Vidaković and Marilena Idžojtić
Plants 2024, 13(21), 3060; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13213060 - 31 Oct 2024
Viewed by 835
Abstract
Since its introduction into Europe in the first half of the 20th century, Cryphonectria parasitica has been gradually spreading across the natural range of the sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.), infecting the trees and causing lethal bark cankers. Serendipitously, a hyperparasitic Cryphonectria [...] Read more.
Since its introduction into Europe in the first half of the 20th century, Cryphonectria parasitica has been gradually spreading across the natural range of the sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.), infecting the trees and causing lethal bark cankers. Serendipitously, a hyperparasitic Cryphonectria hypovirus 1 (CHV1), which attenuates C. parasitica virulence in combination with more tolerant European chestnut species, was able to ward off the worst effect of the disease. In North America, unfortunately, the native Castanea dentata is now functionally extinct since it occurs only as root sprouts in eastern deciduous forests where it was once dominant. In our work, we investigated changes in C. parasitica populations over time and the regional variability in chestnut populations’ tolerance toward the blight disease. While vegetative compatibility (vc) type diversity and prevalence of hypovirulence remained similar as in previous studies, in the Buje population, unlike in previous studies, we were unable to find any hypovirulent fungal strains. The most common vegetative compatibility types (vc types) were EU-1, EU-2 and EU-12. However, several rare EU-types were found, including one previously unreported: EU-46. By inoculating several C. parasitica strains on tree stems from several chestnut populations, we observed that the induced lesion size was affected by the type of inoculum (CHV1-free or CHV1-infected), genotype-related individual chestnut stem and chestnut stem population of origin-related variability. The largest lesions were induced by CHV1-free fungal isolate DOB-G: 20.13 cm2 (95% C.I. 18.10–22.15) and the smallest by CHV1-infected L14/EP713: 2.49 cm2 (95% C.I. 1.59–3.39). Surprisingly, the size of the lesions induced by other CHV1-infected strains fell somewhere in between these extremes. The size of induced lesions was dependent on the population of origin as well and ranged from 11.60 cm2 (95% C.I. 9.87–13.33) for stems from the Moslavačka gora population to 17.75 cm2 (95% C.I. 15.63–19.87) for stems from Ozalj. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physiological, Biochemical and Ecological Effects of Diseases on Plants)
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