Investigation of a spinach seed treatment, and genetic analyses of the downy mildew-spinach interaction

Authors: Klosterman, Steven

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Other
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/7/2019
Publication Date: 10/7/2019
Citation: Klosterman, S.J. 2019. Investigation of a spinach seed treatment, and genetic analyses of the downy mildew-spinach interaction. California Seed Association Mid-Year Meeting, October 7, 2019, Monterey, California.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Downy mildew of spinach is caused by the obligate oomycete pathogen, Peronospora effusa, and foliar symptoms that this disease causes directly impacts the marketability of leaves. Symptoms of Verticillium wilt, caused by the fungus Verticillium dahliae do not impact spinach that is grown for fresh market, but the seeds that harbor this pathogen are known to transmit the disease to subsequent crops of lettuce, which are sometimes grown in rotation with spinach in the Salinas Valley of California. This research characterizes a seed treatment that shows promise in reducing these and other plant pathogens in spinach seeds. This research also examines how spinach downy mildew disease affects the expression of hundreds of genes in resistant and susceptible host plants of spinach, and gene expression of the pathogen during colonization. Potentially, insights on the specific types of genes expressed in the Peronospora effusa-plant interaction may lead to new methods to control downy mildew disease on spinach.