New Insights and Case Studies in Specific and Complex Plant Diseases

Topic Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, both cultivated crops and ornamental and forest species are facing new or re-emerging diseases that cause damage or pose severe threats to the intensive plantations, the urban greenery and the natural ecosystems. This can be especially evident in perennial species in which a harmful action can impact and cumulate over the years in the form of both acute or chronic symptomatology. In some cases, the relationships between one single causal agent and the disease appear quite unambiguous as the pathogen unequivocally expresses a high virulence in the Kock postulate experiments. In other circumstances, the disease appears as the outcome of the concerted action of more biotic agents (i.e., viruses, bacteria, fungi) and of abiotic factors which trigger a climate change and modify the ecological niche of both the microbial community and the host plant. This multi-factorial interaction gives rise to disease states whose etiology can be puzzling to unravel. In this latter case, not only virulent microbes but also opportunistic/secondary colonizers and microorganisms able to perform both a pathogenic and an endophytic lifestyle are involved. The comprehension of specific and complex or polymicrobial plant diseases is facing a new era due to the high-resolution contribution of the new “omics” technologies that can provide insights into the many relationships between the microbes, the environment and the host plant. This Topics focuses on novel acquisitions, in terms of etiological investigations—namely predisposing, inciting and contributing factors—epidemiology, plant-microbe-environment interactions, detection and control, concerning plant diseases caused by a single agent or multiple biotic/abiotic stress factors. Reviews of the current knowledge of the diseases are also of interest.

Dr. Stefania Loreti
Dr. Massimo Pilotti
Dr. Marco Scortichini
Dr. Tatjana Popović Milovanović
Topic Editors

Keywords

Participating Journals

Journal Name	Impact Factor	CiteScore	Launched Year	First Decision (median)	APC
Agronomy agronomy	3.3	6.2	2011	17.6 Days	CHF 2600
Journal of Fungi jof	4.2	6.7	2015	17.7 Days	CHF 2600
Microorganisms microorganisms	4.1	7.4	2013	11.7 Days	CHF 2700
Pathogens pathogens	3.3	6.4	2012	15.3 Days	CHF 2200
Plants plants	4.0	6.5	2012	18.9 Days	CHF 2700

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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13 pages, 2362 KiB  

Open AccessArticle

Transreplication Preference of the Tomato Leaf Curl Joydebpur Virus for a Noncognate Betasatellite through Iteron Resemblance on Nicotiana bethamiana

by Thuy T. B. Vo, I Gusti Ngurah Prabu Wira Sanjaya, Eui-Joon Kil, Aamir Lal, Phuong T. Ho, Bupi Nattanong, Marjia Tabassum, Muhammad Amir Qureshi, Taek-Kyun Lee and Sukchan Lee

Microorganisms 2023, 11(12), 2907; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11122907 - 1 Dec 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1645

Abstract

Pepper plants (Capsicum annuum) with severe leaf curl symptoms were collected in 2013 from Bangalore, Karnataka, India. The detection results showed a co-infection between the tomato leaf curl Joydebpur virus (ToLCJoV) and tomato leaf curl Bangladesh betasatellite (ToLCBDB) through the sequencing [...] Read more.

Pepper plants (Capsicum annuum) with severe leaf curl symptoms were collected in 2013 from Bangalore, Karnataka, India. The detection results showed a co-infection between the tomato leaf curl Joydebpur virus (ToLCJoV) and tomato leaf curl Bangladesh betasatellite (ToLCBDB) through the sequencing analysis of PCR amplicons. To pinpoint the molecular mechanism of this uncommon combination, infectious clones of ToLCJoV and two different betasatellites—ToLCBDB and tomato leaf curl Joydebpur betasatellite (ToLCJoB)—were constructed and tested for their infectivity in Nicotiana benthamiana. Together, we conducted various combined agroinoculation studies to compare the interaction of ToLCJoV with non-cognate and cognate betasatellites. The natural non-cognate interaction between ToLCJoV and ToLCBDB showed severe symptoms compared to the mild symptoms of a cognate combination (ToLCJoV × ToLCJoB) in infected plants. A sequence comparison among betasatellites and their helper virus wasperformed and the iteron resemblances in ToLCBDB as well as ToLCJoB clones were processed. Mutant betasatellites that comprised iteron modifications revealed that changes in iteron sequences could disturb the transreplication process between betasatellites and their helper virus. Our study might provide an important consideration for determining the efficiency of transreplication activity between betasatellites and their helper virus. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic New Insights and Case Studies in Specific and Complex Plant Diseases)

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25 pages, 17736 KiB  

Open AccessReview

Xylella fastidiosa subsp. pauca, Neofusicoccum spp. and the Decline of Olive Trees in Salento (Apulia, Italy): Comparison of Symptoms, Possible Interactions, Certainties and Doubts

by Marco Scortichini, Giuliano Manetti, Angela Brunetti, Valentina Lumia, Lorenzo Sciarroni and Massimo Pilotti

Plants 2023, 12(20), 3593; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12203593 - 17 Oct 2023

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3889

Abstract

Xylella fastidiosa subsp. pauca (XFP), Neofusicoccum mediterraneum, N. stellenboschiana and other fungi have been found in olive groves of Salento (Apulia, Italy) that show symptoms of severe decline. XFP is well known to be the cause of olive quick decline syndrome (OQDS). [...] Read more.

Xylella fastidiosa subsp. pauca (XFP), Neofusicoccum mediterraneum, N. stellenboschiana and other fungi have been found in olive groves of Salento (Apulia, Italy) that show symptoms of severe decline. XFP is well known to be the cause of olive quick decline syndrome (OQDS). It has also been assessed that Neofusicoccum spp. causes a distinct disease syndrome, namely, branch and twig dieback (BTD). All these phytopathogens incite severe symptoms that can compromise the viability of large canopy sectors or the whole tree. However, their specific symptoms are not easily distinguished, especially during the final stages of the disease when branches are definitively desiccated. By contrast, they can be differentiated during the initial phases of the infection when some facets of the diseases are typical, especially wood discoloration, incited solely by fungi. Here, we describe the typical symptomatological features of OQDS and BTD that can be observed in the field and that have been confirmed by Koch postulate experiments. Similar symptoms, caused by some abiotic adverse conditions and even by additional biotic factors, are also described. Thus, this review aims at: (i) raising the awareness that declining olive trees in Salento do not have to be linked a priori to XFP; (ii) defining the guidelines for a correct symptomatic diagnosis to orient proper laboratory analyses, which is crucial for the application of effective control measures. The possibility that bacterium and fungi could act as a polyspecies and in conjunction with predisposing abiotic stresses is also widely discussed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic New Insights and Case Studies in Specific and Complex Plant Diseases)

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17 pages, 5988 KiB  

Open AccessArticle

Revealing an Iranian Isolate of Tomato Brown Rugose Fruit Virus: Complete Genome Analysis and Mechanical Transmission

by Fereshteh Esmaeilzadeh, Adyatma Irawan Santosa, Ali Çelik and Davoud Koolivand

Microorganisms 2023, 11(10), 2434; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11102434 - 28 Sep 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2415

Abstract

An analysis of the complete genome sequence of a novel isolate of tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV) obtained from tomatoes in Iran and named ToBRFV-Ir is presented in this study. Comprehensive phylogenetic analysis utilizing key viral proteins, including 126 KDa, 183 KDa, [...] Read more.

An analysis of the complete genome sequence of a novel isolate of tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV) obtained from tomatoes in Iran and named ToBRFV-Ir is presented in this study. Comprehensive phylogenetic analysis utilizing key viral proteins, including 126 KDa, 183 KDa, movement protein (MP), and coat protein (CP), as well as the complete genome sequence, classified ToBRFV-Ir and 65 isolates from GenBank into three distinct clades. Notably, genetic diversity assessment revealed relatively low variability among the isolates, irrespective of their geographical or clade affiliation. Natural selection analysis based on the complete genome sequence showed that dN/dS values were consistently <1, indicating the prevailing role of negative selection across all populations. Analyses using the Recombination Detection Program and SplitsTree found no evidence of recombination events or signals in the complete genome sequence of the tested isolates. Thus, these results suggest that the genetic composition of ToBRFV remains stable without significant genetic exchange or recombination events occurring. A simple arithmetic comparison of the patristic distances and dates suggested that the time to the most recent common ancestor (TMRCA) of the ToBRFV populations is approximately 0.8 up to 2.7 with the closest tobamoviruses. An evolutionary study of the tested isolates from various countries based on the complete genome suggests Peruvian ancestry. The ToBRF-Ir isolate was successfully transmitted through mechanical inoculations to Solanum lycopersicum and Nicotiana rustica. These findings shed light on the genetic dynamics and transmission mechanisms of ToBRFV, providing valuable insights into its molecular characteristics and potential spread among susceptible plant species. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic New Insights and Case Studies in Specific and Complex Plant Diseases)

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13 pages, 2189 KiB  

Open AccessArticle

Phylogeographic Analysis of Soft-Rot-Causing Pectobacterium spp. Strains Obtained from Cabbage in Serbia

by Aleksandra Jelušić, Marco Scortichini, Sanja Marković, Petar Mitrović, Renata Iličić, Slaviša Stanković and Tatjana Popović Milovanović

Microorganisms 2023, 11(8), 2122; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11082122 - 21 Aug 2023

Viewed by 1594

Abstract

The aim of this study was to establish a link between genetic diversity and the geographic origin of Pectobacterium strains belonging to three species—P. carotovorum, P. versatile, and P. odoriferum—isolated from cabbage in Serbia by comparing their sequences with [...] Read more.

The aim of this study was to establish a link between genetic diversity and the geographic origin of Pectobacterium strains belonging to three species—P. carotovorum, P. versatile, and P. odoriferum—isolated from cabbage in Serbia by comparing their sequences with those of strains sourced from different hosts and countries in Europe, Asia, and North America. Phylogeographic relatedness was reconstructed using the Templeton, Crandall, and Sing’s (TCS) haplotype network based on concatenated sequences of the housekeeping genes dnaX, icdA, mdh, and proA, while pairwise genetic distances were computed by applying the p-distance model. The obtained TCS haplotype networks indicated the existence of high intra-species genetic diversity among strains of all three species, as reflected in the 0.2–2.3%, 0.2–2.5%, and 0.1–1.7% genetic distance ranges obtained for P. carotovorum, P. versatile, and P. odoriferum, respectively. Five new haplotypes (denoted as HPc1–HPc5) were detected among cabbage strains of P. carotovorum, while one new haplotype was identified for both P. versatile (HPv1) and P. odoriferum (HPo1). None of the TCS haplotype networks provided evidence of significant correlation between geographic origin and the determined haplotypes, i.e., the infection origin. However, as haplotype network results are affected by the availability of sequencing data in public databases for the used genes and the number of analyzed strains, these findings may also be influenced by small sample size. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic New Insights and Case Studies in Specific and Complex Plant Diseases)

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19 pages, 9383 KiB  

Open AccessReview

An Overview of the Emergence of Plant Pathogen ‘Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum’ in Europe

by Vojislav Trkulja, Andrija Tomić, Slavica Matić, Nenad Trkulja, Renata Iličić and Tatjana Popović Milovanović

Microorganisms 2023, 11(7), 1699; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11071699 - 29 Jun 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2595

Abstract

In this paper, a comprehensive overview of the ‘Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum’ presence in Europe was provided. The analyzed findings revealed that, since the first appearance of this pathogen in Finland and Spain in 2008, it has spread to 13 new European countries. [...] Read more.

In this paper, a comprehensive overview of the ‘Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum’ presence in Europe was provided. The analyzed findings revealed that, since the first appearance of this pathogen in Finland and Spain in 2008, it has spread to 13 new European countries. Therefore, ‘Ca. L. solanacearum’ has spread very quickly across the European continent, as evident from the emergence of new host plants within the Apiaceae, Urticaceae, and Polygonaceae families, as well as new haplotypes of this pathogen. Thus far, 5 of the 15 ‘Ca. L. solanacearum’ haplotypes determined across the globe have been confirmed in Europe (haplotypes C, D, E, U, and H). Fully competent ‘Ca. L. solanacearum’ vectors include Bactericera cockerelli, Trioza apicalis, and B. trigonica; however, only T. apicalis and B. trigonica are presently established in Europe and are very important for plants from the Apiaceae family in particular. Moreover, psyllid species such as B. tremblayi, T. urticae, and T. anthrisci have also been confirmed positive for ‘Ca. L. solanacearum’. Constant monitoring of its spread in the field (in both symptomatic and asymptomatic plants), use of sensitive molecular diagnostic techniques, and application of timely management strategies are, therefore, of utmost importance for the control of this destructive pathogen. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic New Insights and Case Studies in Specific and Complex Plant Diseases)

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