PPWS 5054: Plant Pathogenic Agents

You are here: Academics -> Courses -> PPWS 5054: Plant Pathogenic Agents

Instructors | Lecture Topics | Lab Topics | Assessment |

Spring 2007

Biology of plant pathogenic fungi, prokaryotes, viruses and nematodes: morphology, taxonomy, ecology, plant-pathogen interactions, symptomology, and selected aspects of management. Techniques for experimental plant pathology. 3H, 3L, 4C

Prerequisites: no "hard" prerequisites, but we expect some previous exposure to either microbiology, introductory plant pathology, or relevant areas of biology.

Instructors:

Back To Top

Lecture Topics

  • Fungi

    1. Overview: fungi and fungus-like organisms, types of diseases
    2. Classification, basis of taxonomy
    3. Survey of the major groups that include plant pathogens Morphology, anamorph and teleomorph. (Deuteromycota, Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, Oomycota, brief mention of slime molds, Chytridiomycota, Zygomycota), including aspects of

      • Disease cycles
      • Ecology: dispersal and survival, inoculum and inoculum potential
      • Host-parasite interactions
  • Bacteria

    1. General biology of plant pathogenic bacteria and description of different genera
    2. Erwinia species and the diseases they cause
    3. Pseudomonas syringae and Xanthomonas ssp and the diseases they cause
    4. Fastidious bacteria and phytoplasmas and the diseases they cause
    5. Agrobacterium ssp and the diseases they cause
    6. Gram positive plant pathogenic bacteria and the diseases they cause
    7. Molecular evolution and taxonomy of plant pathogenic bacteria
    8. Plant pathogenic bacteria as biocontrol agents
  • Viruses

    1. Overview, types of diseases caused by viruses; importance locally and globally
    2. Virus-host interactions: replication, movement, pathogenesis
    3. Virus nomenclature and classification systems: DNA and RNA genome structure and phylogeny; capsid morphology
    4. Survey of major plant virus families and genera: molecular diversity, biology, ecology, including vector transmission
  • Nematodes

    1. Introduction to the Phylum Nematoda
    2. Nematode morphology
    3. Digestive and reproductive systems
    4. Nematode taxonomy
    5. Nematodes as parasites and pathogens
    6. Disease complexes
    7. Mechanisms of resistance
    8. Nematode distribution and sampling
    9. Numbers of nematodes and disease

Back To Top

Laboratory Topics

  • Fungi

    1. Tissue examination: sectioning and mounting techniques.
    2. Media preparation, sterilization (heat, filtration, chemical) and aseptic technique.
    3. Isolation, culturing, single-sporing, dealing with contaminants, inoculation
    4. Morphology of representative anamorphs and teleomorphs
  • Bacteria:

    1. Isolation of bacteria from plants
    2. Microbiological and molecular methods for identification of bacterial plant pathogens
    3. Multiple Locus Sequence Typing (MLST) analysis and taxonomy
  • Viruses

    1. Overview, types of diseases caused by viruses; importance locally and globally
    2. Virus-host interactions: replication, movement, pathogenesis
    3. Virus nomenclature and classification systems: DNA and RNA genome structure and phyllogeny; capsid morphology
    4. Survey of major plant virus families and genera: molecular diversity, biology, ecology, including vector transmission
  • Nematodes

    1. Gross morphology of nematodes
    2. Digestive and reproductive systems
    3. Extraction and culturing nematodes

Back To Top

Assessment: each of the four section of the course will be concluded by an exam.

Back To Top