Premium
Influence of the d 2 factor on survival and infection by the Dutch elm disease pathogen Ophiostoma ulmi
Author(s) -
WEBBER J. F.
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
plant pathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.928
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1365-3059
pISSN - 0032-0862
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-3059.1987.tb02270.x
Subject(s) - dutch elm disease , biology , ophiostoma , conidium , pathogen , fungus , xylem , mycelium , fungal pathogen , in vivo , botany , microbiology and biotechnology , genetics
A particular form of mycovirus, the d 2 factor, which attacks the elm pathogen Ophiostoma ulmi, was found to be extremely deleterious to this fungus both in vitro and in vivo. Most significantly, d 2 ‐infected conidia were poor at persisting in feeding grooves, the usual infection court of the pathogen, and also showed a 50‐fold reduction in successful xylem infection compared with their healthy counterparts. In addition, transmission of the d 2 factor from diseased to healthy isolates of O. ulmi was found to take place in feeding grooves, indicating that the fungus exists in a mycelial phase prior to invading xylem vessels.