Fungi infecting cultivated moss can also cause diseases in crop plants SEMINAR ON PEST RISK ASSESSMENT 2-3 October 2012, Helsinki, Finland 9.10.2012 1
Fungi infecting cultivated moss can also cause diseases in crop plants Mikko Lehtonen 1, Eeva Marttinen 1, Motomu Akita 2 & Jari Valkonen 1 1 Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland 2 Department of Biotechnological Sciences, Kinki University, Wakayama, Japan 9.10.2012 2
Commercial cultivation of Sunagoke moss in Japan (H. Murase, Osaka Pref. Univ.) 9.10.2012 3
Advantages Moss roofs are used for mitigation of the heat island problem Maintenance-free Soil-less Light in weight (approx. 10 kg/m 2 ) Easy to use Flexible (e.g. for vertical walls) (www.valore.jp) 9.10.2012 4
Damaged areas on moss panel (M. Akita, Kinki University) 9.10.2012 5
Isolation of fungi from damaged moss panels Characterization by ITS sequencing and morphology 26 isolates belonging to 11 genera of Ascomycota Soil associated Potentially plant pathogenic (Akita et al., 2011. Science of the Total Environment, 409, 3166 73.) 9.10.2012 6
Pathogens of vascular plants have been reported to inhabit mosses Coniochaeta velutina Glittering Wood-moss Date palm Rhizoctonia sp. Bank Haircap Scots pine Pythium ultimum Sickle-leaved Hook-moss Many important crops (Wikimedia Commons) 7
Are the fungi detected in moss panels pathogenic to vascular plants? Plants Barley Fungi Fusarium oxysporum Chinese cabbage Carrot Tomato Fusarium avenaceum Cladosporium oxysporum Alternaria alternata (Physcomitrella patens) 9.10.2012 8
Reduced germination Fusarium avenaceum reduced germination of tomato seed from 81% to 47% and germination of carrot seed from 77% to 41% (Lehtonen et al., 2012. Annals of Applied Biology, 160, 298-307) 9.10.2012 9
Root rot and premature death Fusarium avenaceum caused root and crown rot on barley seedlings Cladosporium oxysporum caused antocyanin production and premature death of carrot seedlings in 5 weeks (Lehtonen et al., 2012. Annals of Applied Biology, 160, 298-307) 9.10.2012 10
Some isolates infect only moss Alternaria alternata Fusarium oxysporum (Mikko Lehtonen) 9.10.2012 11
Summary and conclusions Fungi living on mosses can infect vascular plants and thus mosses may serve as an inoculum reservoir Results suggest that there are isolates of wellknown fungal pathogen species of vascular crop plants specialized to mosses Intermediate hosts of fungal pathogens of crop plants can include mosses, which have been largely ignored in plant disease epidemiology 9.10.2012 12
Acknowledgements Professor H. Murase, Osaka Prefecture University Viikki Doctoral Program in Molecular Biosciences Finnish Doctoral Program in Plant Sciences Academy of Finland (grants 1134759 and 1253126) 9.10.2012 13
Akita M, Lehtonen MT, Koponen H, Marttinen EM, Valkonen JP (2011) Infection of the Sunagoke moss panels with fungal pathogens hampers sustainable greening in urban environments. Science of the Total Environment, 409, 3166 3173. Lehtonen MT, Marttinen EM, Akita M, Valkonen JPT (2012) Fungi infecting cultivated moss can also cause diseases in crop plants. Annals of Applied Biology, 160, 298 307. Maatalous-metsätieteellinen tiedekunta / Henkilön nimi / Esityksen nimi 9.10.2012 14