TY - JOUR
T1 - Differential host susceptibility to the marine oomycete pathogen Eurychasma dicksonii detected by real time PCR
T2 - not all algae are equal
AU - Gachon, Claire
AU - Strittmatter, Martina
AU - Müller, Dieter G
AU - Kleinteich, Julia
AU - Küpper, Frithjof
N1 - Description
3* this paper strongly suggests a genetic determinism for disease resistance in brown algae, and a cosmopolitan distribution for the pathogen Eurychasma dicksonii. Opens new field of research in the ecological impact of pathogen on algal populations.
PY - 2009
Y1 - 2009
N2 - In the marine environment, a growing body of evidence points to parasites as key players in the control of population dynamics and overall ecosystem structure. However, their prevalence and impact on marine macroalgal communities remain virtually unknown. Indeed, infectious diseases of seaweeds are largely underdocumented, partly because of the expertise required to diagnose them with a microscope. Over the last few years, however, real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) has emerged as a rapid and reliable alternative to visual symptom scoring for monitoring pathogens. Thus, we present here a qPCR assay suitable for the detection and quantification of the intracellular oomycete pathogen Eurychasma dicksonii in its ectocarpalean and laminarialean brown algal hosts. qPCR and microscopic observations made of laboratory-controlled cultures revealed that clonal brown algal strains exhibit different levels of resistance against Eurychasma, ranging from high susceptibility to complete absence of symptoms. This observation strongly argues for the existence of a genetic determinism for disease resistance in brown algae, which would have broad implications for the dynamics and genetic structure of natural populations. We also used qPCR for the rapid detection of Eurychasma in filamentous brown algae collected in Northern Europe and South America and found that the assay is specific, robust, and widely applicable to field samples. Hence, this study opens the perspective of combining large-scale disease monitoring in the field with laboratory-controlled experiments on the genome model seaweed Ectocarpus siliculosus to improve our understanding of brown algal diseases.
AB - In the marine environment, a growing body of evidence points to parasites as key players in the control of population dynamics and overall ecosystem structure. However, their prevalence and impact on marine macroalgal communities remain virtually unknown. Indeed, infectious diseases of seaweeds are largely underdocumented, partly because of the expertise required to diagnose them with a microscope. Over the last few years, however, real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) has emerged as a rapid and reliable alternative to visual symptom scoring for monitoring pathogens. Thus, we present here a qPCR assay suitable for the detection and quantification of the intracellular oomycete pathogen Eurychasma dicksonii in its ectocarpalean and laminarialean brown algal hosts. qPCR and microscopic observations made of laboratory-controlled cultures revealed that clonal brown algal strains exhibit different levels of resistance against Eurychasma, ranging from high susceptibility to complete absence of symptoms. This observation strongly argues for the existence of a genetic determinism for disease resistance in brown algae, which would have broad implications for the dynamics and genetic structure of natural populations. We also used qPCR for the rapid detection of Eurychasma in filamentous brown algae collected in Northern Europe and South America and found that the assay is specific, robust, and widely applicable to field samples. Hence, this study opens the perspective of combining large-scale disease monitoring in the field with laboratory-controlled experiments on the genome model seaweed Ectocarpus siliculosus to improve our understanding of brown algal diseases.
KW - PYLAIELLA-LITTORALIS
KW - ARABIDOPSIS-THALIANA
KW - MACROALGAE
KW - Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
KW - CORAL-REEF
KW - PHAEOPHYCEAE
KW - VIRUSES
KW - ECTOCARPUS-SILICULOSUS
KW - Microbiology
KW - MOLECULAR PHYLOGENY
KW - INFECTIOUS-DISEASES
KW - PHYTOPLANKTON
U2 - 10.1128/AEM.01885-08
DO - 10.1128/AEM.01885-08
M3 - Article
SN - 0099-2240
VL - 75
SP - 322
EP - 328
JO - Applied and Environmental Microbiology
JF - Applied and Environmental Microbiology
IS - 2
M1 - n/a
ER -