SUBJECT

Plant Pathology I

lecture

master

Faculty of Science

Biology MSc

2

Semesters 1-4

Autumn/Spring semester

Lectures:

1. Introduction: The healthy and the diseased plant Plant diseases and plant pathogenic micro-organisms: basic concepts. Diagnosis, importance and control of plant diseases - a historical overview.

2. Plant pathogenic micro-organisms: an introduction An overview of the most important groups of plant pathogenic viruses, viroids, bacteria, phytoplasmas and fungi. General characteristics of these groups. Epidemics caused by plant pathogenic viruses, viroids, bacteria, phytoplasmas and fungi.

3. The infection process - basic concepts The infection process. Reactions of the infected plants. Susceptibility and resistance to infection. Plant metabolites responsible for disease symptoms. Role of the physiological status of the plants in disease resistance.

4. Plant pathogenic viruses and viroids: an introduction General characterization of plant pathogenic viruses and viroids. The most important groups of plant pathogenic viruses and viroids.

5. Plant pathogenic viruses and viroids: the infection process Transmission of plant viruses: mechanical transmission, transmission by seeds, vegetative propagation (grafting) and insect, nematode and fungal vectors. Symptoms caused by plant viruses. Physiological changes in the infected plants. Replication of RNA viruses vs. DNA viruses. Molecular basis of viral replication.

6. Plant pathogenic viruses and viroids: control of the viral infections Classic agrotechnical control methods. Genetic, biological and integrated control methods. Control methods based on biotechnological tools.

7. Plant pathogenic bacteria: an introduction General characterization of plant pathogenic bacteria. Interactions between plants and plant pathogenic bacteria at cellular and molecular levels. Plant diseases caused by phytopathogenic bacteria. Methods to control bacterial plant diseases.

8. Plant pathogenic bacteria: the infection process Bacteria on or in the plant tissues - interactions in the rhizosphere and the phyllosphere. Penetration of the plant tissues. Role of bacterial enzimes, extracellular lipopolysaccharides and toxins during the penetration process. Role of plant hormones in the infection process. Genetic ground of the plant-bacteria interactions.

9. Plant pathogenic fungi: an introduction Parasitism in the fungal kingdom: general characteristics of plant pathogenic fungi. Physiological changes in the infected plants. Types of plant diseases caused by fungi. Control of plant diseases caused by fungi.

10. Groups of plant pathogenic fungi General characterization of plant pathogens belonging to the Gymnomycota, Oomycota, Chytridiomycetes and Zygomycetes. General characterization of plant pathogenic fungi belonging to the Ascomycetes and the Basidiomycetes.

11. Genetic diversity of plant pathogenic fungi General characteristics of the fungal genome. Diversity of plant pathogenic fungi: changes in the virulence and fungicide resistance; emergence of new pathotypes and races; emergence of novel plant pathogens; changes in the asexual/sexual reproduction. Genetic ground of these phenomena: sexual and asexual recombinations, interspecific hybridizations, mutations, mycoviruses and transposons.

12. Disease resistance in plants: mechanisms of resistance Innate and acquired plant resistance. Molecular basis of plant resistance. Resistance genes in plants.

13. Plant protection: classic and modern control methods An overview of the classic agrotechnical, chemical, biological and integrated plant protection. Breeding of plants resistant to plant diseases using classic and molecular tools. Transgenic plants resistant to plant diseases.Biological control of plant pathogens.

14. Identification of plant pathogens using classic and modern tools Diagnosis of plant pathogenic viruses, bacteria and fungi using classic methods and molecular tools based on protein and nucleic acid profiles.

15. Plant diseases with complex etiology. Diseases of wild plants. Ecology of plant diseases Physiological factors causing plant diseases. Symptoms of diseases caused by physiological factors. Plant diseases with complex etiology. Plant diseases in natural ecosystems - ecological considerations.

• Matthew Dickinson: Molecular Plant Pathology. Garland Science, 2004

• AVSS Sambamurty: A Textbook of Plant Pathology: Pathogen and Plant Disease, I. K. International Pvt Ltd, 1992

• James B. Sinclair, Onkar Dev Dhingra: Basic Plant Pathology Methods, 2nd ed., CRC Press, 1995