Effects of Temperature and Light on Germination of Urediniospores of the Pearl Millet Rust Pathogen, Puccinia substriata var. indica

Plant size-dependent influence of foliar fungal pathogens promotes diversity through allometric growth

The effect of pathogens on host diversity has attracted much attention in recent years, yet how the influence of pathogens on individual plants scales up to affect community-level host diversity remains unclear. Here, we assessed the effects of foliar fungal pathogens on plant growth and species richness using allometric growth theory in population-level and community-level foliar fungal pathogen exclusion experiments. We calculated growth scaling exponents of 24 species to reveal the intraspecific size-dependent effects of foliar fungal pathogens on plant growth. We also calculated the intercepts to infer the growth rates of relatively larger conspecific individuals. We found that foliar fungal pathogens inhibited the growth of small conspecific individuals more than large individuals, resulting in a positive allometric growth. After foliar fungal pathogen exclusion, species-specific growth scaling exponents and intercepts decreased, but became positively related to species' relative abundance, providing a growth advantage for individuals of abundant species with a higher growth scaling exponent and intercept compared with rare species, and thus reduced species diversity. By adopting allometric growth theory, we elucidate the size-dependent mechanisms through which pathogens regulate species diversity and provide a powerful framework to incorporate antagonistic size-dependent processes in understanding species coexistence.

Intraspecific trait variation and changing life-history strategies explain host community disease risk along a temperature gradient

Predicting how climate change will affect disease risk is complicated by the fact that changing environmental conditions can affect disease through direct and indirect effects. Species with fast-paced life-history strategies often amplify disease, and changing climate can modify life-history composition of communities thereby altering disease risk. However, individuals within a species can also respond to changing conditions with intraspecific trait variation. To test the effect of temperature, as well as inter- and intraspecifc trait variation on community disease risk, we measured foliar disease and specific leaf area (SLA; a proxy for life-history strategy) on more than 2500 host (plant) individuals in 199 communities across a 1101 m elevational gradient in southeastern Switzerland. There was no direct effect of increasing temperature on disease. Instead, increasing temperature favoured species with higher SLA, fast-paced life-history strategies. This effect was balanced by intraspecific variation in SLA: on average, host individuals expressed lower SLA with increasing temperature, and this effect was stronger among species adapted to warmer temperatures and lower latitudes. These results demonstrate how impacts of changing temperature on disease may depend on how temperature combines and interacts with host community structure while indicating that evolutionary constraints can determine how these effects are manifested under global change. This article is part of the theme issue 'Infectious disease ecology and evolution in a changing world'.

Warming intensifies soil pathogen negative feedback on a temperate tree

The soil pathogen-induced Janzen-Connell (JC) effect is considered as a primary mechanism regulating plant biodiversity worldwide. As predicted by the framework of the classic plant disease triangle, severity of plant diseases is often influenced by temperature, yet insufficient understanding of how increasing temperatures affect the JC effect contributes uncertainty in predictions about how global warming affects biodiversity. We conducted a 3-yr field warming experiment, combining open-top chambers with pesticide treatment, to test the effect of elevated temperatures on seedling mortality of a temperate tree species, Prunus padus, from a genus with known susceptibility to soil-borne pathogens. Elevated temperature significantly increased the mortality of P. padus seedlings in the immediate vicinity of parent trees, concurrent with increased relative abundance of pathogenic fungi identified to be virulent to Prunus species. Our study offers experimental evidence suggesting that global warming significantly intensifies the JC effect on a temperate tree species due to increased relative abundance of pathogenic fungi. This work advances our understanding about changes in the JC effect linked to ongoing global warming, which has important implications for predicting tree diversity in a warmer future.

The effect of host community functional traits on plant disease risk varies along an elevational gradient

Quantifying the relative impact of environmental conditions and host community structure on disease is one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century, as both climate and biodiversity are changing at unprecedented rates. Both increasing temperature and shifting host communities toward more fast-paced life-history strategies are predicted to increase disease, yet their independent and interactive effects on disease in natural communities remain unknown. Here, we address this challenge by surveying foliar disease symptoms in 220, 0.5 m-diameter herbaceous plant communities along a 1100-m elevational gradient. We find that increasing temperature associated with lower elevation can increase disease by (1) relaxing constraints on parasite growth and reproduction, (2) determining which host species are present in a given location, and (3) strengthening the positive effect of host community pace-of-life on disease. These results provide the first field evidence, under natural conditions, that environmental gradients can alter how host community structure affects disease.

Climate change is causing shifts in the ecology and biodiversity of different world regions at unprecedented rates. Global warming is also linked with changes in the risk for certain infectious diseases in humans, but also in animals and plants. There are several possible mechanisms for this. For one thing, changing weather patterns may affect how pathogens grow and reproduce. For another, the distribution ranges of animal and plant hosts of certain disease-causing pathogens are changing because of global warming. This means that the distributions of pathogens are also changing, and so is the severity of the diseases that they cause.

Increasing temperatures may also influence the physiological traits that make host species suitable for pathogens. This is because the traits that allow species to survive or adapt to changes in their environment may also make them better at hosting and transmitting the pathogens that cause disease. For example, in plant communities, rising temperatures could favor species with faster growth rates, quicker reproduction and high dispersal, and these traits are often associated with more efficient spread of disease.

Despite a lot of research into the effects of climate, it remains unclear how temperature, pathogen growth and reproduction, and host species’ traits and distributions combine and interact to alter infectious disease risk, especially in wild plant communities. To investigate this, Halliday, Jalo and Laine studied an area in southeast Switzerland where natural temperature and biodiversity change gradually through the region. The aim was to explore how relationships between plant biodiversity, pathogens and disease risk change with temperature, and to understand whether environmental or biological factors influence infectious disease risk more.

Halliday, Jalo and Laine measured the levels of fungal diseases found in the leaves of plant communities spanning 1,100 meters of elevation, showing that higher temperatures increase disease risk both directly and indirectly. Directly, higher temperatures increased pathogen growth and reproduction, and indirectly, they influenced which plants were present and therefore able to act as disease hosts. The results also indicated that temperature can affect how the traits of plants drive the transmission rates of fungal pathogens. Important predictors of disease risk were traits relating to the growth rate of host plants, which tended to increase in areas with low elevation where the surface of the soil was warm.

This study represents the first analysis, in wild plants, of how changing temperatures, the traits of shifting host species, and resident parasite populations interact to impact infectious disease risk. The insights Halliday, Jalo and Laine provided could aid in predicting how global climate change will influence infectious disease risk.

Photoperiod Following Inoculation of Arabidopsis with Pyricularia oryzae (syn. Magnaporthe oryzae) Influences on the Plant-Pathogen Interaction

In plant–pathogen interactions, a proper light environment affects the establishment of defense responses in plants. In our previous experiments, we found that nonhost resistance (NHR) to Pyricularia oryzae Cav. in Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. (Arabidopsis), in diurnal conditions, varies with the inoculation time. Moreover, we indicated that the circadian clock plays an important role in regulating time-of-day differences in NHR to P. oryzae in Arabidopsis. However, the involvement of photoperiod in regulating NHR was still not understood. To determine the photoperiod role, we performed the experiments in continuous light and darkness during the early Arabidopsis–P. oryzae interaction. We found that the light period after the inoculation in the evening enhanced the resistance to penetration. However, the dark period after the inoculation in the morning suppressed the penetration resistance. Furthermore, the genetic analysis indicated that jasmonic acid, reactive oxygen species, and tryptophan-derived metabolite(s) contribute to the photoperiod regulation of NHR in Arabidopsis. The present results denote that photoperiod plays an important role in regulating time-of-day differences in NHR to P. oryzae in Arabidopsis.

Warming affects foliar fungal diseases more than precipitation in a Tibetan alpine meadow

The effects of global change on semi-natural and agro-ecosystem functioning have been studied extensively. However, less well understood is how global change will influence fungal diseases, especially in a natural ecosystem. We use data from a 6-yr factorial experiment with warming (simulated using infrared heaters) and altered precipitation treatments in a natural Tibetan alpine meadow ecosystem, from which we tested global change effects on foliar fungal diseases at the population and community levels, and evaluated the importance of direct effects of the treatments and community-mediated (indirect) effects (through changes in plant community composition and competence) of global change on community pathogen load. At the population level, we found warming significantly increased fungal diseases for nine plant species. At the community level, we found that warming significantly increased pathogen load of entire host communities, whereas no significant effect of altered precipitation on community pathogen load was detected. We concluded that warming influences fungal disease prevalence more than precipitation does in a Tibetan alpine meadow. Moreover, our study provides new experimental evidence that increases in disease burden on some plant species and for entire host communities is primarily the direct effects of warming, rather than community-mediated (indirect) effects.

Verrucarin A and roridin E produced on rocket by Myrothecium roridum under different temperatures and CO2 levels

The behaviour of Myrothecium roridum, artificially inoculated on cultivated rocket (Eruca sativa), has been evaluated under eight different temperature and CO2 concentration combinations (from 14-18 °C to 26-30 °C and with 400-450 or 800-850 ppm of CO2). The pathogen isolate used for this study was inoculated on rocket and disease severity increased with high temperatures for both CO2 levels. Verrucarin A and roridin E mycotoxins were produced under all the tested temperatures at high CO2 conditions. The maximum level of verrucarin A was found at 14-18 °C and 800-850 ppm of CO2, and the maximum roridin E production was detected at 26-30 °C with 800-850 ppm of CO2. The results obtained in this study show that both the CO2 concentration and the temperature influence disease severity and mycotoxin production in different ways. An increase in temperature, which is favourable for attacks of the pathogen, could induce the spread of M. roridum in temperate regions, and this pathogen could take on even greater importance in the future, considering its ability to produce mycotoxins.

Linking plant disease risk and precipitation drivers: a dynamical systems framework

Plant pathogens often respond sensitively to changes in their environmental conditions and consequently represent a potentially important ecological response to global change. Although several studies have considered the effects of increased temperature and CO(2) concentrations on plant pathogen risk, the effects of changing precipitation regimes have drawn less attention. Many classes of plant pathogen, however, are sensitive to changes in the water potential of their local environment. This study applied existing ecohydrological frameworks to connect precipitation, soil, and host properties with scenarios of pathogen risk, focusing on two water-sensitive pathogens: Phytophthora cinnamomi and Botryosphaeria doithidea. Simple models were developed to link the dynamics of these pathogens to water potentials. Model results demonstrated that the risk of host plants being colonized by the pathogens varied sensitively with soil and climate. The model was used to predict the distribution of Phytophthora in Western Australia and the severity of disease in horticultural blueberry trials with variable irrigation rates, illustrating potential applications of the framework. Extending the modeling framework to include spatial variation in hydrology, epidemic progression, and feedbacks between pathogens and soil moisture conditions may be needed to reproduce detailed spatial patterns of disease. At regional scales, the proposed modeling approach provides a tractable framework for coupling climatic drivers to ecosystem response while accounting for the probabilistic and variable nature of disease.

Effect of Temperature on Conidial Germination of Botryosphaeriaceae Species Infecting Grapevines

Germination of conidia of eight botryosphaeriaceous fungi infecting grapevines was evaluated after 2, 4, 6, 12, and 24 h incubation under eight different temperatures (5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, and 40°C). The effect of temperature on conidial germination was also evaluated in different stages (hyaline versus pigmented conidia) of the species Lasiodiplodia theobromae. Conidial germination of Botryosphaeriaceae species infecting grapevines was significantly affected by temperature. Overall, conidial germination increased significantly with longer incubation times, especially from 2 to 12 h. In most cases, germination of conidia was not significantly different between 12 and 24 h incubation. Conidia of botryosphaeriaceous species did not germinate (with the exception of Botryosphaeria dothidea and Neofusicoccum parvum) at 5°C, and only B. dothidea, Diplodia seriata, and L. theobromae showed high levels of conidial germination at 40°C. Optimum conidial germination temperatures (defined as the temperature in which germination reached at least 50% in the shortest incubation time) were 25°C for B. dothidea and Dothiorella iberica, 25 to 30°C for Spencermartinsia viticola, 30°C for Diplodia corticola, D. mutila, D. seriata, N. parvum, and hyaline L. theobromae, and 40°C for pigmented L. theobromae conidia. Successful conidial germination of species of Botryosphaeriaceae infecting grapevines was always observed between 10 and 35°C with the exception of Dothiorella iberica and pigmented L. theobromae conidia, neither of which germinated at 35 and 10°C, respectively. Results of this study show conidia of botryosphaeriaceous species infecting grapevines to be capable of germination under a broad range of temperatures including those considered to be extreme, which may explain the success of these species as grapevine pathogens throughout most of the grape-growing areas in both Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

Effect of light exposure on in vitro germination and germ tube growth of eight species of rust fungi

The effects of light on urediniospore germination and germ tube elongation was studied with eight species of rust fungi that infect ornamental plants or row crops. Exposure of six species of fungi to cool white fluorescent light at 400 or 600 micromol s(-1) m(-2) for 24 h significantly reduced germination with largest decreases typically observed at 600 micromol s(-1) m(-2). Germination and germ tube elongation did not recover during 24 h dark incubation after 18 h exposure to fluorescent light at 600 micromol s(-1) m(-2), indicating the effects were not reversible. Germ tube elongation of all fungi was negatively affected by increased length of exposure to fluorescent light. Increased exposure to fluorescent light differentially affected germination of the fungi with Puccinia hemerocallidis, Phakopsora pachyrhizi, Pucciniastrum vaccinii and Puccinia menthae negatively affected and Puccinia sorghi, Puccinia triticina, Puccinia pelargonii-zonalis and Puccinia iridis relatively unaffected in 10 h incubation. Exposure of Ph. pachyrhizi and P. triticina urediniospores to sunlight rapidly reduced germination and germ tube elongation with no germination observed for Ph. pachyrhizi after 2.5 h. Germ tube elongation but not germination of hydrated urediniospores of Ph. pachyrhizi and P. triticina was significantly reduced compared to dry urediniospores exposed to 10 h fluorescent light followed by 24 h dark incubation. Exposure to fluorescent light (all fungi) or sunlight (two fungi) negatively affected urediniospore germ tube elongation. Differences observed in urediniospore germination between fungi suggest some species have co-evolved with their host for differing light conditions. Our data suggests exposure of urediniospores to strong light could inactivate rust fungi on plant surfaces or in the atmosphere.

Climate change effects on plant disease: genomes to ecosystems

Research in the effects of climate change on plant disease continues to be limited, but some striking progress has been made. At the genomic level, advances in technologies for the high-throughput analysis of gene expression have made it possible to begin discriminating responses to different biotic and abiotic stressors and potential trade-offs in responses. At the scale of the individual plant, enough experiments have been performed to begin synthesizing the effects of climate variables on infection rates, though pathosystem-specific characteristics make synthesis challenging. Models of plant disease have now been developed to incorporate more sophisticated climate predictions. At the population level, the adaptive potential of plant and pathogen populations may prove to be one of the most important predictors of the magnitude of climate change effects. Ecosystem ecologists are now addressing the role of plant disease in ecosystem processes and the challenge of scaling up from individual infection probabilities to epidemics and broader impacts.

Seduced by the dark side: integrating molecular and ecological perspectives on the influence of light on plant defence against pests and pathogens

Plants frequently suffer attack from herbivores and microbial pathogens, and have evolved a complex array of defence mechanisms to resist defoliation and disease. These include both preformed defences, ranging from structural features to stores of toxic secondary metabolites, and inducible defences, which are activated only after an attack is detected. It is well known that plant defences against pests and pathogens are commonly affected by environmental conditions, but the mechanisms by which responses to the biotic and abiotic environments interact are only poorly understood. In this review, we consider the impact of light on plant defence, in terms of both plant life histories and rapid scale molecular responses to biotic attack. We bring together evidence that illustrates that light not only modulates defence responses via its influence on biochemistry and plant development but, in some cases, is essential for the development of resistance. We suggest that the interaction between the light environment and plant defence is multifaceted, and extends across different temporal and biological scales.

Effect of Temperature on Thekopsora minima Urediniospores and Uredinia

Thekopsora minima is a heteroecious rust, with spermogonia and aecia occurring on the needles of hemlock (Tsuga spp.) and uredinia, telia, and basidia occurring on the leaves of ericaceous genera, including species of Rhododendron. The effect of temperature was determined for urediniospore germination, germ tube growth, and infection efficiency on Rhododendron 'White Lights'. Percent germination and germ tube growth were assessed at 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30°C after 3 h of incubation on 1.5% water agar in the dark. Polynomial regression analyses revealed a significant effect of temperature on both germination (P < 0.001, R²_adj = 0.936) and germ tube growth (P < 0.001, R²_adj = 0.933), with predicted optimum temperatures of 21.5 and 22.0°C, respectively. Germination and germ tube growth were reduced greatly at 30°C and below 15°C. Temperature also was found to have a significant effect on infection efficiency, as measured by incubation period (P < 0.001, R²_adj = 0.808) and uredinia produced (P < 0.001, R²_adj = 0.866). On excised leaf disks of Rhododendron 'White Lights' maintained under a 14-h photoperiod, the shortest mean incubation periods of 10.7 and 10.0 days were at 20 and 25°C, respectively, with a predicted optimum of 23°C. The mean incubation period at 15 and 30°C was approximately 4 and 3 days longer, respectively, than at the predicted optimum temperature. The number of uredinia produced was similar at 15, 20, and 25°C, but was reduced sixfold at 30°C. The predicted optimum temperature for uredinial production was 19.5°C, with a 5% variation in uredinia production between 17.5 and 22°C.

Effects of Light, Temperature, and Leaf Wetness Duration on Daylily Rust

Experiments in controlled environments were completed to determine the influence of light intensity, temperature, and leaf wetness duration on daylily rust caused by Puccinia hemerocallidis. As light intensity increased, there was a significant decrease in urediniospore germination (R² = 0.88 and Y = 96 - 0.6x). Urediniospores germinated in vitro between 7 and 34°C with an optimal temperature of 22 to 24°C. To test the effect of temperature on infection efficiency, plants were inoculated with urediniospores, incubated under high relative humidity at 4, 10, 22, 30, or 36°C, and then transferred to a greenhouse at 23°C for 15 days. Plants incubated at 22°C had an average of 13 lesions cm leaf^-1. Incubation temperatures of 4, 10, 30, or 36°C resulted in less than 1.5 lesions cm leaf^-1. Plants were inoculated, incubated at 22°C for 24 h, and then incubated at different temperatures for 15 days to test the effect of temperature on disease development. There were no significant differences in disease development at 22 and 30°C; however, there were significantly fewer lesions at 10°C and no lesions developed at 36°C within 15 days. Five to six h of leaf wetness were required for lesion development and as the duration of leaf wetness increased, there was a significant increase in the number of lesions that developed. These studies indicate that for disease development of P. hemerocallidis on daylily, temperatures around 22°C and 5 h of leaf wetness are required during infection. However, once a daylily is infected, disease development is not as sensitive to environmental conditions.

Effects of an Interaction Between Inoculum Density and Temperature on Germination of Puccinia allii Urediniospores and Leek Rust Progress

ABSTRACT Controlled environment experiments were conducted to study the effects of inoculum density, temperature, and their interaction on germination of Puccinia allii urediniospores and infection of leek leaves. Percent germination of P. allii urediniospores and percent branching of germ tubes increased with 3 density of urediniospores and approached a plateau for densities above approximately 20 spores cm(-2) of leaf area. Percent germination was highest at 12 to 21 degrees C, a wide-range temperature optimum. Branching occurred at temperatures ranging from 5 to 25 degrees C, but there were few germ tubes branching at 25 degrees C. P. allii successfully infected leek leaves at temperatures ranging from 7 to 22 degrees C. The number of pustules produced increased with urediniospore density on leek leaves. At low spore densities, pustule production was little affected by temperature; at higher spore densities, pustule production was greatest between 9 to 11 degrees C, and numbers of pustules decreased greatly with temperature increasing above this optimum. Latent period was affected by temperature, with latent period being shortet between 19 and 22 degrees C, and latent period increasing when temperature decreased. Latent periods became approximately 1.8 days shorter for every 10-fold increase in spore density. The rate of pustule production increased with increasing spore density on leaves and was greatest between 11 to 14 degrees C. Computer simulation of leek rust progress based on the found relationships suggested that at optimal temperatures the development of leek rust epidemics may be little affected by initial spore density and density caused by each pustule, but that at sub- and supra-optimal temperatures the development is greatly affected by these variables.