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Host matrix has major impact on the morphology of Pseudoperonospora cubensis

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Abstract

Oomycetes contain some of the economically most important pathogens of flowering plants. Most have a rather narrow host range, often being restricted to single host species. In downy mildews and other obligate biotrophic plant parasites, like powdery mildews and rusts, delimitating species on grounds of morphological characteristics is often hardly possible and thus often based on only subtle differences. This has led to the widespread application of a broad species concept for these organisms. Consequently, despite the fact that morphological differences were reported for Pseudoperonospora cubensis from different host species, the corresponding new pathogen species were not accepted as being independent, and the host range of Pseudoperonospora cubensis is reported to encompass more than 50 host species in the Cucurbitaceae in temperate to tropical climates. However, recent studies have reported narrow host ranges for other downy mildew genera and advocated a narrow species concept. Here, we report successful colonisation of five different tribes of the Cucurbitaceae by a strain of Pseudoperonospora cubensis and demonstrate that the host matrix has a major impact on the morphology of the pathogen. On the basis of five morphological criteria significant differences could be found for all hosts. These differences were more pronounced in phylogenetically unrelated than in related hosts. Our results provide evidence for a broad host range of Pseudoperonospora cubensis and demonstrate that species delimitation based on morphological characters is not feasible in Pseudoperonospora on Cucurbitaceae. Also in other biotrophic plant pathogens, the situation could be similar, thus necessitating thorough morphological, molecular phylogenetic and cross inoculation experiments for species recognition.

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Acknowledgements

Aleš Lebeda is gratefully acknowledged for providing the Pseudoperonospora cubensis strain that since 2007 is used as a reference strain in our laboratory and was also used in this study. The present study was financially supported by the research funding programme “LOEWE—Landes-Offensive zur Entwicklung Wissenschaftlich-ökonomischer Exzellenz” of Hesse’s Ministry of Higher Education, Research, and the Arts and by a grant from the German Science Foundation (DFG) awarded to MT. GR, BL and JL are acknowledged for support throughout the compilation of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Botany 210, University of Hohenheim, 70593, Stuttgart, Germany

    Fabian Runge

  2. Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (BiK-F), Georg-Voigt-Str. 14-16, 60325, Frankfurt (Main), Germany

    Marco Thines

  3. Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Department for Biological Sciences, Insitute of Ecology, Evolution and Diversity, Siesmayerstr. 70, D-60323, Frankfurt (Main), Germany

    Marco Thines

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  1. Fabian Runge
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Correspondence to Marco Thines.

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Runge, F., Thines, M. Host matrix has major impact on the morphology of Pseudoperonospora cubensis . Eur J Plant Pathol 129, 147–156 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10658-010-9650-9

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