Disease detectives: Mapping the risk of invasive forest pathogens under a changing climate
Brown root rot (caused by Phellinus noxius) and myrtle rust (caused by Austropuccinia psidii) are natural disturbances in their native tropical and subtropical forest ecosystems. A tree infected with either fungal pathogen becomes unhealthy and likely dies, sometimes within 3 months. These pathogens are threatening forest ecosystems around the world as they spread through international trade or other means, such as by wind or through the soil. Climate change also is creating environmental conditions that will allow these pathogens to survive in novel forest ecosystems where they haven’t been found historically.
An international team headed by researchers with the USDA Forest Service and Colorado State University analyzed the genetics of the two pathogens and mapped their likely spread based on the current locations of the various subgroups of each pathogen and contemporary and projected future climates. They found that distinct genetic subgroups of each pathogen occupied different ecological niches and caused varying damage to host trees.
The genetic diversity of these pathogens creates a potent threat, and this information is critical for agencies that regulate trade. The Hawaii Department of Agriculture, for example, is working with the USDA Animal Plant Health Inspection Service to prohibit the importation of plants in the myrtle family from locations where myrtle rust pathogens of a specific genetic subgroup are known to occur.
Citation
Watts, Andrea; Kim, Mee-Sook; Klopfenstein, Ned; Stewart, Jane. 2021. Disease detectives: Mapping the risk of invasive forest pathogens under a changing climate. Science Findings 239. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 5 p.
People
- Person
Mee-Sook Kim
Research Plant Pathologist - Person
Ned B. Klopfenstein
Research Plant Pathologist
For Further Reading:
- J. W. Hanna, R. N. Graca, M. -S. Kim, A. L. Ross-Davis, R. D. Hauff, J. W. Uchida, C. Y. Kadooka, M. B. Rayamajhi, M. Arguedas Gamboa, D. J. Lodge, R. Medel Medel-Ortiz, A. Lopez Ramirez, P. G. Cannon, A. C. Alfenas, N. B. Klopfenstein. 2012. A bioclimatic approach to predict global regions with suitable climate space for Puccina psidii
- John W. Hanna, Mee-Sook Kim, Amy C. Ramsey, Dan W. Omdal, Robin L. Mulvey, Betsy A. Goodrich, Brennan A. Ferguson, Josh J. Bronson, Kristen L. Chadwick, Jane E. Stewart, Helen M. Maffei, Geral I McDonald, Eric W. I Pitman, Marcus V Warwell, Ned B. Klopfenstein. 2019. Assessing potential Armillaria spp. distributions in western Oregon, western Washington, and Alaska
- Jorge R. Ibarra Caballero, Jessa P. Ata, K. A. Leddy, Travis C. Glenn, Troy J. Kieran, Ned B. Klopfenstein, Mee-Sook Kim, Jane E. Stewart. 2020. Genome comparison and transcriptome analysis of the invasive brown root rot pathogen, Phellinus noxius, from different geographic regions reveals potential enzymes associated with degradation of different wood substrates
- J. E. Stewart, M. S. Kim, Y. Ota, N. Sahashi, J. W. Hanna, M. Akiba, J. P. Ata, N. Atibalentia, F. Brooks, C.-L Chung, E. K. Dann, A. Mohd Farid, T. Hattori, S. S. Lee, K. Otto, G. S. Pegg, R. L. Schlub, L. S. Shuey, A. M. C. Tang, J.-N Tsai, P. G. Cannon, N. B. Klopfenstein. 2020. Phylogenetic and population genetic analyses reveal three distinct lineages of the invasive brown root-rot pathogen, Phellinus noxius, and bioclimatic modeling predicts differences in associated climate niches
External Publications
Stewart, J.E.; Ross-Davis, A.L.; Graҫa, R.N. [et al.]. 2018. Genetic diversity of Puccinia psidii in the Americas and Hawaii: global implications for invasive threat assessments. Forest Pathology. 48: e12378.