Co-infection of wheat by Pyrenophora tritici-repentis and Parastagonospora nodorum in the wheatbelt of Western Australia
Araz S. Abdullah
A C , Mark R. Gibberd A and John Hamblin B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Centre for Crop and Disease Management, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Kent Street, Bentley, WA 6102, Australia.
B The UWA Institute of Agriculture, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia.
C Corresponding author. Email: arazsolman@gmail.com
Crop and Pasture Science 71(2) 119-127 https://doi.org/10.1071/CP19412
Submitted: 9 October 2019 Accepted: 5 December 2019 Published: 22 February 2020
Abstract
The pathogenic fungal species Pyrenophora tritici-repentis (Ptr) and Parastagonospora nodorum (Pan) are common in many wheat-producing parts of the world. These two fungi cause tan spot and septoria nodorum blotch, respectively, frequently co-infecting wheat leaves. Empirical studies of this and other co-infections are rare because of the visual similarity of symptoms and the lack of robust methods for quantifying the abundance of pathogens associated with the co-infection. Here, we use a recently developed molecular method that simultaneously distinguishes and quantifies, in DNA equivalent, the abundance of Ptr and Pan, thereby allowing the prevalence of co-infection to be determined. The study examines the prevalence of co-infection under field conditions, at three widely spaced sites and on three wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars varying in disease resistance. Co-infection by Ptr and Pan was almost ubiquitous (overall prevalence 94%), and Pan DNA was detected only in association with Ptr. Although Ptr and Pan commonly co-infected, Ptr was more abundant during early and mid-season, at 80% of total fungal abundance when crops were tillering and 67% at booting stage. Pan became as abundant as Ptr when crops reached flowering. Variability in total fungal abundance and disease severity was primarily determined by cultivar; however, Ptr was the more abundant despite differences in cultivar resistance to this pathogen.
Additional keywords: disease complex of plants, multi-pathogen infections, pathogen interactions, pathogen diversity, yellow spot.
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