Phytophthora “plant destroyer” meets new match

Known as the “plant destroyer”, genus Phytophthora considered one of the most important groups of plant pathogens—causing significant economic and environmental losses throughout history to the present. There are more than 200 identified species in Phytophthora clan. These pathogens, and as yet unidentified, could spread rapidly due to the increasing pace of global trade, e-commerce and travel. Therefore, rapid identification is essential for the effective management of plant diseases.

While several international online sources for Phytophthora Current identifications, in some cases containing incorrect sequences submitted to the National Center of Biotechnology Information (NCBI), are open to the public without a review process. This erroneous NCBI order has been filtered into Phytophthora online resource, perpetuated, and multiplied over the years. Dr. Z. Gloria Abad and other members of the US Department of Agriculture’s Plant Pathogen and Plant Health Confirmatory Diagnostic Laboratory (APHIS) and Pest Identification Technology Laboratory have collaborated with related experts for nearly a decade to develop alternative, robust identification tools that circumvent the pitfalls of their peers. . Abad and colleagues shared this innovative online tool, called “IDphy,” in the journal Plant Diseases for correct and timely identification Phytophthora type.

IDphy is the first online tool for molecular and morphological identification that uses ex-type culture data, which are duplicates of native-type specimens (mostly single dry cultures kept in a single herbarium collection) to identify plant pathogens. This increases their reliability and accuracy compared to other sources that rely solely on photos, sequences or descriptions. The online tool includes all described species with a primary focus on species that cause diseases with economic and environmental impacts. Besides that, IDphy including interactive Lucid keys and tabular keys; fact sheets with information on the structural and molecular features of each species; information on new species and descriptions of hybrids, as well as specimen status and availability of the entire genome sequence of the previous type; mobile app (free for Android and iOS); and computer-based models and phylogenetic sequence analysis with seven genes.

These features, which will be updated regularly, are made IDphy comprehensive, “one-stop shop” for accurate identification Phytophthora type. “The ability to accurately identify plant pathogens is very important for biological and ecological research of these organisms aiming to develop plant disease management strategies,” said Abad. “By providing access to a large database of information about Phytophthora species, including molecular and morphological features, IDphy can help researchers quickly and accurately identify the species they work with. This, in turn, could help speed up research by reducing the time and effort required for accurate identification.” This tool will also be a great asset for identifying diagnostic laboratories Phytophthora species of regulatory concern, which is an important first step to reducing their impact on agriculture and the environment, said Abad.

Development of IDphy can significantly impact the diagnosis and management of plant diseases in agriculture and natural ecosystems, hopefully inspiring researchers around the world to develop similar resources for other plant pathogens.

For more information on this free ID tool, read on IDphy: International Online Source for Molecular Identification and Morphology Phytophthora, published in Vol. 107, No. 4/April 2023 signed Plant Diseases.

Learn more about this work on social media

USDA APHIS Twitter and LinkedIn: @USDA_APHIS and the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

USDA APHIS Facebook: USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University Twitter: @NCSU_DEPP

Phytophthora Facebook Science and Management: The Center for Phytophthora Science and Management

Follow us on Twitter @PlantDiseaseJ and visit https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/journal/pdis to learn more.