scholarly journals Will Triazoles Still Be of Importance in Disease Control of Zymoseptoria tritici in the Future?

Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 933
Author(s):  
Holger Klink ◽  
Joseph-Alexander Verreet ◽  
Mario Hasler ◽  
Tim Birr

Septoria tritici blotch (STB), caused by Zymoseptoria tritici, is one of the most important foliar wheat diseases worldwide. Current control strategies of STB rely mainly on fungicides, whereby triazoles (demethylation inhibitors; DMIs) have been the backbone in the control of Z. tritici in the last decades. However, in recent years a gradual loss of sensitivity of Z. tritici to several active ingredients of the triazole group has been reported in several European wheat-growing areas. Nevertheless, a new triazole fungicide, namely, mefentrifluconazole, has recently become available in disease management of STB, which belongs to a completely new triazole subclass, the so-called isopropanol triazoles. In this study, the trend in sensitivity development of Z. tritici towards older triazoles (tebuconazole, prothioconazole, and propiconazole) and the new isopropanol triazole mefentrifluconazole was determined in microtiter assays using Z. tritici field populations isolated in 1999, 2009, 2014, and 2020 in a high-disease-pressure and high-fungicide-input area in northern Germany in order to investigate whether the loss of sensitivity of Z. tritici to older triazoles also applies to mefentrifluconazole. For the three triazole fungicides tebuconazole, prothioconazole and propiconazole, a significant shift towards decreasing sensitivity of Z. tritici field populations was observed from 1999 to 2020, whereas the efficacy of mefentrifluconazole in reducing the in vitro fungal growth by 50% (EC50) remained unchanged over the investigated period, demonstrating a stable sensitivity of Z. tritici towards mefentrifluconazole. Although older triazoles are suffering from a loss of sensitivity of Z. tritici field populations due to the selection and spread of less triazole sensitive strains within the Z. tritici population, the efficacy of the new triazole mefentrifluconazole with its unique isopropanol unit was not affected by these changes within the Z. tritici population. Thus, the introduction of such new molecular units could also represent an important contribution for older groups of active ingredients, which previously suffered from a loss of sensitivity.

Plant Disease ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 105 (1) ◽  
pp. 169-174
Author(s):  
Christina H. Hagerty ◽  
Ann M. Klein ◽  
Catherine L. Reardon ◽  
Duncan R. Kroese ◽  
Caroline J. Melle ◽  
...  

Zymoseptoria tritici is the causal agent of Septoria tritici blotch (STB), a disease of wheat (Triticum aestivum) that results in significant yield loss worldwide. Z. tritici’s life cycle, reproductive system, effective population size, and gene flow put it at high likelihood of developing fungicide resistance. Succinate dehydrogenase inhibitor (SDHI) fungicides (FRAC code 7) were not widely used to control STB in the Willamette Valley until 2016. Field isolates of Z. tritici collected in the Willamette Valley at dates spanning the introduction of SDHI (2015 to 2017) were screened for sensitivity to four SDHI active ingredients: benzovindiflupyr, penthiopyrad, fluxapyroxad, and fluindapyr. Fungicide sensitivity changes were determined by the fungicide concentration at which fungal growth is decreased by 50% (EC50) values. The benzovindiflupyr EC50 values increased significantly, indicating a reduction in sensitivity, following the adoption of SDHI fungicides in Oregon (P < 0.0001). Additionally, significant reduction in cross-sensitivity among SDHI active ingredients was also observed with a moderate and significant relationship between penthiopyrad and benzovindiflupyr (P = 0.0002) and a weak relationship between penthiopyrad and fluxapyroxad (P = 0.0482). No change in cross-sensitivity was observed with fluindapyr, which has not yet been labeled in the region. The results document a decrease in SDHI sensitivity in Z. tritici isolates following the introduction of the active ingredients to the Willamette Valley. The reduction in cross-sensitivity observed between SDHI active ingredients highlights the notion that careful consideration is required to manage fungicide resistance and suggests that within-group rotation is insufficient for resistance management.


Agriculture ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 269
Author(s):  
Tim Birr ◽  
Mario Hasler ◽  
Joseph-Alexander Verreet ◽  
Holger Klink

Septoria tritici blotch (STB; Zymoseptoria tritici), one of the most important foliar diseases in wheat, is mainly controlled by the intensive use of fungicides during crop growth. Unfortunately, Z. tritici field populations have developed various extents of resistance to different groups of fungicides. Due to the complete resistance to quinone outside inhibitors (QoIs), fungicidal control of STB relies mainly on demethylation inhibitors (DMIs) and succinate dehydrogenase inhibitors (SDHIs) as well as multi-site inhibitors. In this study, temporal changes in the sensitivity of Z. tritici to selected DMIs (tebuconazole, propiconazole, prothioconazole, prochloraz), SDHIs (boscalid, bixafen), and multi-site inhibitors (chlorothalonil, folpet) were determined in microtiter assays using Z. tritici field populations isolated in 1999, 2009, 2014, and 2020 in a high-disease-pressure and high-fungicide-input area in Northern Germany. For the four tested DMI fungicides, a significant shift towards decreasing sensitivity of Z. tritici field populations was observed between 1999 and 2009, whereby concentrations inhibiting fungal growth by 50% (EC50) increased differentially between the four DMIs. Since 2009, EC50 values of tebuconazole, propiconazole, and prochloraz remain stable, whereas for prothioconazole a slightly increased sensitivity shift was found. A shift in sensitivity of Z. tritici was also determined for both tested SDHI fungicides. In contrast to DMIs, EC50 values of boscalid and bixafen increased continuously between 1999 and 2020, but the increasing EC50 values were much smaller compared to those of the four tested DMIs. No changes in sensitivity of Z. tritici were observed for the multi-site inhibitors chlorothalonil and folpet over the last 21 years. The sensitivity adaptation of Z. tritici to both groups of single-site inhibitors (DMIs, SDHIs) mainly used for STB control represents a major challenge for future wheat cultivation.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graeme J. Kettles ◽  
Carlos Bayon ◽  
Caroline A. Sparks ◽  
Gail Canning ◽  
Kostya Kanyuka ◽  
...  

Abstract-The fungus Zymoseptoria tritici is the causal agent of Septoria Tritici Blotch (STB) disease of wheat leaves. Z. tritici secretes many functionally uncharacterised effector proteins during infection. Here we characterised a secreted ribonuclease (Zt6) with an unusual biphasic expression pattern.-Transient expression systems were used to characterise Zt6, and mutants thereof, in both host and non-host plants. Cell-free protein expression systems monitored impact of Zt6 protein on functional ribosomes, and in vitro assays of cells treated with recombinant Zt6 determined toxicity against bacteria, yeasts and filamentous fungi.-We demonstrated that Zt6 is a functional ribonuclease and that phytotoxicity is dependent on both the presence of a 22-amino acid N-terminal “loop” region and its catalytic activity. Zt6 selectively cleaves both plant and animal rRNA species, and is toxic to wheat, tobacco, bacterial and yeast cells but not to Z. tritici itself.-Zt6 is the first Z. tritici effector demonstrated to have a likely dual functionality. The expression pattern of Zt6 and potent toxicity towards microorganisms suggests that whilst it may contribute to the execution of wheat cell death, it is also likely to have an important secondary function in antimicrobial competition and niche protection.


2019 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-33
Author(s):  
S. Kildea ◽  
D.E. Bucar ◽  
F. Hutton ◽  
S. de la Rosa ◽  
T.E. Welch ◽  
...  

Abstract The emergence and spread of Quinone outside Inhibitor (QoI) fungicide resistance in the Irish Zymoseptoria tritici population in the early 2000s had immediate impacts on the efficacy of the entire group of fungicides for the control of septoria tritici blotch. As a result, a dramatic reduction in the quantities applied to winter wheat occurred in the following seasons. Even in the absence of these fungicides, the frequency of the resistance allele, G143A in the pathogens mtDNA has remained exceptionally high (>97%), and as such, it can be anticipated that continued poor efficacy of current QoI fungicides will be observed. Amongst the isolates with G143A, differences in sensitivity to the QoI pyraclostrobin were observed in vitro. The addition of the alternative oxidase (AOX) inhibitor salicylhydroxamic acid increased sensitivity in these isolates, suggesting some continued impairment of respiration by the QoI fungicides, albeit weak. Interestingly, amongst those tested, the strains from a site with a high frequency of inserts in the MFS1 transporter gene known to enhance QoI efflux did not exhibit this increase in sensitivity. A total of 19 mtDNA haplotypes were detected amongst the 2017 strain collection. Phylogenetic analysis confirmed the suggestion of a common ancestry of all the haplotypes, even though three of the haplotypes contained at least one sensitive strain.


Author(s):  
Tony Twamley ◽  
Mark Gaffney ◽  
Angela Feechan

AbstractFusarium graminearum and Zymoseptoria tritici cause economically important diseases of wheat. F. graminearum is one of the primary causal agents of Fusarium head blight (FHB) and Z. tritici is the causal agent of Septoria tritici blotch (STB). Alternative control methods are required in the face of fungicide resistance and EU legislation which seek to cut pesticide use by 2030. Both fungal pathogens have been described as either hemibiotrophs or necrotrophs. A microbial fermentation-based product (MFP) was previously demonstrated to control the biotrophic pathogen powdery mildew, on wheat. Here we investigated if MFP would be effective against the non-biotrophic fungal pathogens of wheat, F. graminearum and Z. tritici. We assessed the impact of MFP on fungal growth, disease control and also evaluated the individual constituent parts of MFP. Antifungal activity towards both pathogens was found in vitro but MFP only significantly decreased disease symptoms of FHB in planta. In addition, MFP was found to improve the grain number and weight, of uninfected and F. graminearum infected wheat heads.


Plant Disease ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. PDIS-02-20-0318
Author(s):  
Adam Kuzdraliński ◽  
Justyna Leśniowska-Nowak ◽  
Michał Nowak ◽  
Magdalena Kawęcka ◽  
Anna Kot ◽  
...  

Zymoseptoria tritici is a fungal pathogen causing losses in wheat yields. Here, we present new primer sets for species-specific identification of this microorganism in wheat leaf samples using conventional PCR. Primer sets were validated in silico using tools available in genetic databases. Furthermore, in vitro tests were also carried out on 190 common wheat samples with visual symptoms of Septoria tritici blotch (STB) collected in Poland in three growing seasons (2015, 2016, 2017). The designed primer sets showed full hybridization to the available genetic resources deposited in the NCBI GenBank database, and their high specificity and sensitivity were demonstrated on wheat leaf samples and selected fungal strains.


2016 ◽  
Vol 106 (11) ◽  
pp. 1255-1261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fangfang Zhan ◽  
Yiekun Xie ◽  
Wen Zhu ◽  
Danli Sun ◽  
Bruce A. McDonald ◽  
...  

Zymoseptoria tritici is a globally distributed plant-pathogenic fungus causing Septoria tritici blotch of wheat. In this study, the in vitro growth rates and aggressiveness of 141 genetically distinct isolates sampled from four wheat fields on three continents were assessed to determine the association of these two ecological parameters. Aggressiveness was assessed on two spring wheat cultivars (‘Toronit’ and ‘Greina’) in a greenhouse using percentages of leaf area covered by lesions and pycnidia. We found a positive correlation between aggressiveness of pathogen strains on the two cultivars, consistent with a quantitative and host-nonspecific interaction in this pathosystem. We also found a positive correlation between aggressiveness and average growth rate at two temperatures, suggesting that in vitro pathogen growth rate may make a significant contribution to pathogen aggressiveness.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Habig ◽  
Sharon Marie Bahena-Garrido ◽  
Friederike Barkmann ◽  
Janine Haueisen ◽  
Eva Holtgrewe Stukenbrock

SummaryZymoseptoria triticiis a filamentous fungus causing Septoria tritici blotch in wheat. The pathogen has a narrow host range and infections of grasses other than susceptible wheat are blocked early after stomatal penetration. During these abortive infections the fungus shows a markedly different expression pattern. However, the underlying mechanisms causing differential gene expression during host and non-host interaction are largely unknown, but likely include transcriptional regulators responsible for the onset of an infection program in compatible hosts. In the rice blast pathogenMagnaporthe oryzae, MoCOD1, a member of the fungal Zn(II)2Cys6transcription factor family, has been shown to directly affect pathogenicity. Here, we analyse the role of the putative transcription factor Zt107320, a homolog of MoCOD1, during infection of compatible and incompatible hosts byZ. tritici. We show for the first time thatZt107320is differentially expressed in host versus non-host infections and that lower expression corresponds to an incompatible infection of non-hosts. Applying reverse genetics approaches we further show that Zt107320 regulates the dimorphic switch as well as the growth rate ofZ. triticiand affects fungal cell wall compositionin vitro. Moreover, ΔZt107320mutants showed reduced virulence during compatible infections of wheat. We conclude that Zt107320 directly influences pathogen fitness and propose that Zt107320 regulates growth processes and pathogenicity during infection. Our results suggest that this putative transcription factor is involved in discriminating compatible and non-compatible infections.


Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 95
Author(s):  
Rémi Platel ◽  
Mélodie Sawicki ◽  
Qassim Esmaeel ◽  
Béatrice Randoux ◽  
Pauline Trapet ◽  
...  

Septoria tritici blotch, caused by the fungal pathogen Zymoseptoria tritici, is a highly significant disease on wheat crops worldwide. The objective of the present study was to find out new bacterial strains with bio-antimicrobial activity against Z. tritici. Two phyllospheric bacteria (S1 and S6) were isolated from wheat ears and identified as Bacillus velezensis strains according to 16S rRNA Sanger sequencing. Antagonistic assays performed with either living strains or cell-free culture filtrates showed significant in vitro antifungal activities against Z. tritici. For the culture filtrates, the half-maximal inhibitory dilution and the minimal inhibitory dilution were 1.4% and 3.7% for the strain S1, and 7.4% and 15% for the strain S6, respectively. MALDI—ToF analysis revealed that both strains synthesize cyclic lipopeptides but from different families. Interestingly, only strain S1 produces putative bacillomycin D. Such differential lipopeptide production patterns might explain the difference observed between the antifungal activity of the culture filtrates of the two strains. This study allows the identification of new lipopeptide-producing strains of B. velezensis with a high potential of application for the biocontrol of Z. tritici.


2019 ◽  
Vol 109 (3) ◽  
pp. 409-417 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geraldine Le Mire ◽  
Ali Siah ◽  
Brice Marolleau ◽  
Matthieu Gaucher ◽  
Claude Maumené ◽  
...  

Wheat crops are constantly challenged by the pathogen Zymoseptoria tritici, responsible for Septoria tritici Blotch (STB) disease. The present study reports the evaluation of five elicitor compounds (λ-carrageenan, cytosine-phosphate-guanine oligodesoxynucleotide motifs [CpG ODN], glycine betaine, Spirulina platensis, and ergosterol) for the protection of wheat against STB in order to offer new alternative tools to farmers for sustainable crop protection. Screening of elicitors of wheat defenses was carried out through a succession of experiments: biocidal in vitro tests enabled checking for any fungicidal activities, glasshouse experiments allowed determination of the efficacy of a given compound in protecting wheat against STB, and quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction biomolecular tests investigated the relative expression of 23 defense genes in treated versus untreated plants. Therefore, we demonstrated that λ-carrageenan, CpG-ODN, glycine betaine, S. platensis, and ergosterol are potential elicitors of wheat defenses. Foliar treatment with these compounds conferred protection of wheat by up to approximately 70% against Z. tritici under semicontrolled conditions and induced both salicylic acid- and jasmonic acid-dependent signaling pathways in the plant. These findings contribute to extending the narrow list of potential elicitors of wheat defenses against Z. tritici.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document