Adam Okorski, Gabriela Paczkowska, Joanna Dąbrowska, Artur Rutkiewicz, Piotr Borowik, Agnieszka Pszczółkowska, Tomasz Oszako
{"title":"Characterization of the mycobiome of Pinus sylvestris L. seedlings damaged by forest animals, with an emphasis on pathogenic species","authors":"Adam Okorski, Gabriela Paczkowska, Joanna Dąbrowska, Artur Rutkiewicz, Piotr Borowik, Agnieszka Pszczółkowska, Tomasz Oszako","doi":"10.1007/s10658-024-02940-y","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>In Poland, red deer, roe deer and elk cause great damage to pine stands, and pine is the predominant forest-forming tree species in Polish forests. Pine seedlings planted adjacent to agricultural fields face heightened risk of damage from nocturnal foraging by game animals, which retreat to forested areas during the day. This damage creates openings for fungal entry, particularly by concerning plant pathogens, such as <i>Fusarium</i> species, which are prevalent in agricultural settings. This study aimed to analyze the mycobiome of pine seedlings damaged by forest animals, focusing on the presence of concerning pathogens in infested pine seedlings collected from ten forest plantations at various distances from rural areas. Samples of pine seedlings bitten by forest animals were taken from 10 forest plantations at different distances from rural areas. Selected diversity indices were determined to compare the fungal populations. Mycological analysis of the gnawed pine shoots using culture and qPCR methods revealed 746 fungal colonies. The most frequently isolated species were: <i>Fusarium avenaceum</i>, <i>Alternaria alternata</i>, <i>Botrytis</i> sp., <i>Cladosporium cladosporioides</i>, representatives of the genus <i>Penicillium</i>, <i>Rhizopus nigricans</i> and <i>Fusarium oxysporum</i>, which were found in samples from all study plots and are thus ubiquitous. Species that are typical pathogens of agricultural crops, such as <i>Fusarium avenaceum</i>, <i>F. culmorum</i>, <i>F. poae</i>, <i>F. sporotrichioides</i> and <i>F. tricinctum</i>, were also isolated from damaged seedling tissue in forest plantations neighbouring agricultural fields. Spearman’s rank correlation analysis showed that the importance of secondary pathogens, represented by species of the genus <i>Fusarium</i>, decreased with increasing distance from agricultural fields, while the importance of primary pathogens increased. Younger pine seedlings exhibited lower species diversity and a higher prevalence of specific secondary pathogen species, coupled with heightened susceptibility to infection compared to older seedlings when subjected to tissue damage by forest animals. These findings underscore not only variations among plantations in proximity to agricultural fields but also suggest potential inter-land spread of fungi, emphasizing the need for integrated management strategies across agricultural and forestry domains.</p>","PeriodicalId":12052,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Plant Pathology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7000,"publicationDate":"2024-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"European Journal of Plant Pathology","FirstCategoryId":"97","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10658-024-02940-y","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"AGRONOMY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
In Poland, red deer, roe deer and elk cause great damage to pine stands, and pine is the predominant forest-forming tree species in Polish forests. Pine seedlings planted adjacent to agricultural fields face heightened risk of damage from nocturnal foraging by game animals, which retreat to forested areas during the day. This damage creates openings for fungal entry, particularly by concerning plant pathogens, such as Fusarium species, which are prevalent in agricultural settings. This study aimed to analyze the mycobiome of pine seedlings damaged by forest animals, focusing on the presence of concerning pathogens in infested pine seedlings collected from ten forest plantations at various distances from rural areas. Samples of pine seedlings bitten by forest animals were taken from 10 forest plantations at different distances from rural areas. Selected diversity indices were determined to compare the fungal populations. Mycological analysis of the gnawed pine shoots using culture and qPCR methods revealed 746 fungal colonies. The most frequently isolated species were: Fusarium avenaceum, Alternaria alternata, Botrytis sp., Cladosporium cladosporioides, representatives of the genus Penicillium, Rhizopus nigricans and Fusarium oxysporum, which were found in samples from all study plots and are thus ubiquitous. Species that are typical pathogens of agricultural crops, such as Fusarium avenaceum, F. culmorum, F. poae, F. sporotrichioides and F. tricinctum, were also isolated from damaged seedling tissue in forest plantations neighbouring agricultural fields. Spearman’s rank correlation analysis showed that the importance of secondary pathogens, represented by species of the genus Fusarium, decreased with increasing distance from agricultural fields, while the importance of primary pathogens increased. Younger pine seedlings exhibited lower species diversity and a higher prevalence of specific secondary pathogen species, coupled with heightened susceptibility to infection compared to older seedlings when subjected to tissue damage by forest animals. These findings underscore not only variations among plantations in proximity to agricultural fields but also suggest potential inter-land spread of fungi, emphasizing the need for integrated management strategies across agricultural and forestry domains.
期刊介绍:
The European Journal of Plant Pathology is an international journal publishing original articles in English dealing with fundamental and applied aspects of plant pathology; considering disease in agricultural and horticultural crops, forestry, and in natural plant populations. The types of articles published are :Original Research at the molecular, physiological, whole-plant and population levels; Mini-reviews on topics which are timely and of global rather than national or regional significance; Short Communications for important research findings that can be presented in an abbreviated format; and Letters-to-the-Editor, where these raise issues related to articles previously published in the journal. Submissions relating to disease vector biology and integrated crop protection are welcome. However, routine screenings of plant protection products, varietal trials for disease resistance, and biological control agents are not published in the journal unless framed in the context of strategic approaches to disease management.