Phytophthora Database

Crop loss from disease poses a serious threat to global food/fiber/feed security. Its high virulence establishes Phytophthora as one of the most important groups of plant pathogens. Phytophthora ramorum, the cause of sudden oak death in the US and diseases on ornamental plants in the US and Europe, exemplifies a recent threat to both natural ecosystems and the nursery industry. The likelihood that this species will not be the last threat to US forest and the nursery industry signifies the importance of continuously monitoring the diversity, distribution and dynamics of Phytophthora. We established a comprehensive forensic database, termed the Phytophthora Database (PD). In addition to systematically cataloging genotypic and phenotypic data on Phytophthora in a web-accessible format, the PD provides a number of data search, analysis and visualization tools to support identification, detection, and risk assessment of Phytophthora. Although the current target is Phytophthora, its impact will reach other pathogen groups; the IT platforms supporting the PD and experimental approaches can easily be adapted for dealing with different pathogens.

A major contribution of this project to plant biosecurity is the establishment of a global resource supporting the identification and monitoring of new/foreign Phytophthora. The ability to accurately and rapidly identify the causal agent of a disease is crucial for developing effective regulatory and disease management strategies, and facilitates the monitoring of changes in pathogen communities as they respond to agricultural practices and environmental changes.

• Kang, S., Blair, J. E., Geiser, D. M., Khang, C., Park, S., Gahegan, M., O'Donnell, K., Luster, D. G., Ivors, K. I., Kim, S. H., Lee, Y., Lee, Y., Grünwald, N. J., Martin, F. M., Coffey, M. D., Veeraraghavan, N., and Makalowska, I. (2006). Plant pathogen culture collections: It takes a village to preserve these resources vital to the advancement of agricultural security and plant pathology. Phytopathology 96: 920-925.
• Irish, B., Goenaga, R., Park, S, and Kang, S. (2007). First Report of Phytophthora palmivora, Causal Agent of Black Pod, on Cacao in Puerto Rico. Plant Disease (Note). In press.
• Blair, J.E., Coffey, M.D., Park, S.-Y., Geiser, D.M., and Kang, S. (2007) A multi-locus phylogeny for Phytophthora utilizing markers derived from complete pathogen genomes. Fungal Genet. Biol. Under review.
• Balci, Y., Balci, S., Blair, J.E., Park, S., Kang, S., and MacDonald (2007) Phytophthora quercetorum sp. nov., a novel species isolated from eastern and north-central US oak forest soils. Mycological Research Under review.
• Park, J., Park, B., Veeraraghavan, N., Blair, J.E., Geiser, D.M., Isard, S., Mansfield, M.A., Nikolaeva, E., Park, S.-Y., Russo, J., Kim, S.H., Greene, M., Ivors, K.L., Balci, Y., Peiman, M., Erwin, D.C., Coffey, M.D., Jung, K., Lee, Y.-H., Rossman, A., Farr, D., Cline, E., Grünwald, N.J., Luster, D.G., Schrandt, J., Martin, F., Ribeiro, O.K., Makalowska, I., and Kang, S. (2007) Phytophthora Database v.1.0: A cyberinfrastructure supporting the identification and monitoring of Phytophthora. In preparation.

Seogchan Kang, Plant Pathology
David Geiser, Plant Pathology
Izabela Makalowska, Center for Computational Genomics