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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Corvallis, Oregon » Horticultural Crops Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #274737
Title: Emergence of the sudden oak death pathogen Phytophthora ramorum

Author
item Grunwald, Niklaus - Nik
item GARBELOTTO, M - University Of California
item GOSS, E - University Of Florida
item HEUNGENS, K - Institute For Agricultural And Fisheries Research (ILVO)
item PROSPERO, S - Swiss Federal Institute

Submitted to: Trends in Microbiology
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/14/2011
Publication Date: 3/1/2012
Citation: Grunwald, N.J., Garbelotto, M., Goss, E.M., Heungens, K., Prospero, S. 2012. Emergence of the sudden oak death pathogen Phytophthora ramorum. Trends in Microbiology. 20:131-138.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Phytophthora ramorum, the pathogen responsible for massive sudden oak death of tanoak, coast live oak and Japanese larch in the United States and the United Kingdom, is the latest example of an emerging pathogen. This review documents the emergence of P. ramorum based on detailed, recent evolutionary, population genetic, and epidemiological analyses. Currently P. ramorum is known only in Europe and North America. Populations on both continents are clonal and belong to three distinct lineages: EU1, NA1 and NA2. The ancient divergence of the three clonal lineages of P. ramorum supports a scenario in which P. ramorum originated from geographically or reproductively isolated populations and underwent at least four global migration events. This recent work sheds new light on mechanisms of emergence of exotic pathogens and provides critical insights into migration pathways.