Influence of competition and host plant resistance on selection in Phytophthora infestans populations in Michigan, USA and in Northern Ireland

• Published in: Plant pathology 2009-08, Vol.58 (4), p.703-714
• Main Authors: Young, G.K, Cooke, L.R, Kirk, W.W, Tumbalam, P, Perez, F.M, Deahl, K.L
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: aggressiveness; Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; Biological and medical sciences; cultivar resistance; cultivars; disease resistance; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Fungal plant pathogens; genetic variation; Genetics and breeding of economic plants; host-pathogen relationships; pathogenicity; Phytopathology. Animal pests. Plant and forest protection; Phytophthora infestans; plant pathogenic fungi; potato; potato late blight; potatoes; Solanum tuberosum; virulence
• ISSN: 0032-0862; 1365-3059
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-3059.2009.02043.x

Competition between genotypes of Phytophthora infestans was studied by inoculating potato cultivars with differing susceptibility to late blight in field experiments over three years in Northern Ireland, UK, and Michigan, USA. Multiple isolates of six genotype groups of P. infestans were chosen from the local populations in both N. Ireland and Michigan for inoculation of separate field trials planted in 2003, 2004 and 2005. Four cultivars were used in each trial; two (susceptible cv. Atlantic and the partially resistant cv. Stirling) were common to both locations, whereas the two additional cultivars (with partial resistance to late blight) were cvs Santé and Milagro in N. Ireland and cvs Pike and Jacqueline Lee in Michigan. Single-lesion isolates of P. infestans were obtained from leaves at 1% level of infection, characterized using pre-assigned markers and re-assigned to their respective genotype groups. Extreme selection occurred within the population of genotypes of P. infestans in N. Ireland in each year, with different genotype groups dominating the infection of different cultivars. Selection was observed on all cultivars tested, but was greatest on the more resistant cultivars. Over the 3 years, all of the 114 isolates obtained from cv. Milagro belonged to a single group, whereas among the 118 isolates from cv. Atlantic all six groups were represented. By contrast, in Michigan, the US-8 genotype dominated infection in all cultivars in each year; only 12 of 374 isolates characterized belonged to other genotypes (11 US-14 and a single US-10 isolate).