INTERNATIONAL NEWSLETTER ON PLANT PATHOLOGY

ISPP Newsletter 39 (11) November 2009

Material for the Newsletter is invited from individual members of ISPP, Associated Societies, Council members, Chairs of all Committees and representatives of Affiliated Societies and Supporting Organisations.

Editor: Brian J Deverall,  (E-mail)

In this issue: 

• International Congress of Plant Pathology in 2013
• Research-for-Development in Tropical Agriculture
• E C Stakman Award – Nominations Invited
• International Reaches from Australasia
• Pathogen Effector Proteins
• Mediterranean Phytopathological Union Congress
• International Conference on Plant Pathogenic Bacteria
• Medicinal Mushroom Conference
• Soybean Rust Research
• Some New Papers from Australasia
• Management of Fusarium Head Blight
• Coming Events

International Congress of Plant Pathology in 2013
 
Professor You-Liang Peng, ISPP Vice-President and Congress Chairman, has sent updated information about the 10th International Congress of Plant Pathology to be held in Beijing, China, in August 2013 (see “Coming Events”).
 
The proposed theme of the Congress is “Bio-security, Food Safety and Plant Pathology: The Role of Plant Pathology in a Globalized Economy”. It is envisioned that the Congress will include traditional plenary sessions, symposia, and oral, poster, discussion and workshop sessions. The program will cover the most crucial topics in applied and basic plant pathology from all over the world.
 
The web-site for the Congress is http://www.icppbj2013.org/.
 

Research-for-Development in Tropical Agriculture
 
A six-monthly magazine from the Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) reviews the latest activity and progress in research-for-development (R4D) towards the needs of sub-Saharan Africa. The latest issue of the magazine can be seen at the interactive site http://r4dreview.org/. The main purpose of the magazine is to help IITA discuss research and development with its partners, investors, collaborators and beneficiaries. This is in order to develop the best new ideas for creating, leading and transforming tropical agriculture.
 
The Institute plays a major role in dealing with the complex problems that plague crops and peoples’ lives in tropical Africa in particular. The terrible problems for bananas and cassava and thus for food supply have been in world headlines often in recent months and years.
 
Banana production is currently under threat from Xanthomonas wilt and the aphid-transmitted banana bunchy top virus. Cassava crops are assailed by cassava mosaic virus and under expanding disease threat from cassava brown streak virus, both of which are transmitted by the vector Bemisia tabaci. Articles in the current magazine describe these situations and address prospects and avenues for progress.  Other articles discuss major topics such as successes in the use of biological control, approaches to plant improvement through conventional breeding and biotechnology and the diversity of African insects.
 
IITA www.iita.org works with world-wide partners to develop agricultural solutions for tackling hunger and poverty. IITA is an international non-profit R4D organization and was established in 1967. It is governed by a Board of Trustees and supported mainly by CGIAR www.cgiar.org.

E C Stakman Award – Nominations Invited
 
The E C Stakman Award is granted to individuals of any country and nationality for outstanding achievements in plant pathology. The award may be given for documented achievements in the areas of research, teaching, outreach, international development or for any combination of these areas. Preference will be given to candidates actively engaged in these areas; only occasionally will lifetime achievement awards be considered.
 
Past Stakman Awardees may be seen by clicking here.

Nominations must include a brief biographical sketch of the nominee, a complete curriculum vitae and two letters from persons who can address the scientific contributions of the candidate. Nominations must be received by 15 December 2009.
 
Please send your nominations to Dr Carol Ishimaru, Department of Plant Pathology, University of Minnesota, 495 Borlaug Hall, 1991 Upper Buford Circle, St Paul, MN 55108-6030 USA. Applications can also be e-mailed to  lages001@umn.edu or faxed to +1-612-625-9728.
 
 
International Reaches from Australasia
 
A Biennial Conference of the Australasian Society for Plant Pathology was held recently in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. It was well attended by members from Australia and New Zealand and also by visitors from over 30 other countries.
 
Some special features of the conference were the Presidential address by Greg Johnson emphasising the importance of communication in the subject and in the professional societies, and an excellent following address by Andre Drenth on the high relevance of plant pathology faced with the mammoth task of decreasing the impact of diseases on world food production. Philip Keane used the McAlpine Lecture to provide great insight into understanding the mystery of vascular-streak dieback of cocoa in PNG and south-east Asia, and commenting strongly on the frequent poor situation of world farmers. Mike Wingfield in his keynote address showed the emerging frontiers in forest pathology, where long-known diseases and new diseases threaten around the world.  Adrienne Hardham in her keynote address gave an outstanding update on the molecular cytology of interactions between Phytophthora and plant cells.
 
Another special feature was the Presidential Breakfast attended by many past Presidents of the Society and by invited Presidents or their representatives from eleven Societies around the world. Thus the Presidents of the American Phytopathological Society and the Singapore Plant Protection Society were there, along with senior representatives from the Asian Association of Societies, Canada, ISPP, Israel, Japan, Korea, Pakistan, South Africa and Thailand.  One topic of discussion was providing leads to maintain and restore the names, content and importance of the disciplines of “plant pathology” and “agricultural science” when both were being hidden behind other fashionable terms in many places and often threatened with loss.
 
Two reports from the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) of Australia were launched at the Conference and they put the annual cost of wheat and barley diseases in Australia at an estimated $AUD1.165 billion.
 
See www.grdc.com.au/diseasescostswheat for the wheat report and www.grdc.com.au/diseasescostsbarley for the barley report.


The next 18th Biennial Conference of the Australasian Plant Pathology Society (APPS) will be held jointly with the 4th Asian Conference on Plant Pathology (ACPP) in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, in April 2011 (see “Coming Events”).
 
 
Pathogen Effector Proteins
 
In recognition that 2009 is the 25th anniversary of the cloning of a type III effector gene from a phytopathogenic bacterium as reported by Staskawicz, Dahlbeck and Keen (1984), a special issue of Molecular Plant Pathology will focus on secreted effectors from diverse plant pathogens. It is MPP 10:6, November 2009, published 23 October, available on-line 19 October.  See: http://www.bspp.org.uk/.
 
Staskawicz B J, Dahlbeck D and Keen N T (1984) Cloned avirulence gene of Pseudomonas syringae pv. glycinea determines race-specific incompatibility on Glycine max (L.) Merr. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA  81, 6024-6028.
 
The special issue is guest-edited by Paul Birch, Robert Jackson and Mary Beth Mudgett. It provides historical overviews, discusses significant advances made in elucidating effector function and provides an outlook for future developments in this area of intensive research. There are review articles from leaders in the field together with related original research articles.
 
The review articles are:
 
Brian Staskawicz "First insights to the genes that control bacterial-plant interactions".
 
John Mansfield "From bacterial avirulence genes to effector functions via the hrp delivery system: an overview of 25 years of progress in our understanding of plant innate immunity".
 
Sebastian Schornack, Edgar Huitema, Liliana M Cano, Tolga O Bozkurt, Ricardo Oliva, Mireille van Damme, Simon Schwizer, Sylvain Raffaele, Angela Chaparro-Garcia, Rhys Farrer, Maria Eugenia Segretin, Jorunn Bos, Brian J Haas, Michael C.Zod2, Chad Nusbaum, Joe Win, Marco Thines and Sophien Kamoun   "Ten things to know about oomycete effectors".
 
Pierre J G M de Wit, Rahim Mehrabi, Harrold A van den Burg and Ioannis Stergiopoulos "Fungal effector proteins: past, presence and future".
 
Frank F White, Neha Potnis, Jeffrey B Jones and Ralf Koebnik "The Type III effectors of Xanthomonas".
 
Magdalen Lindeberg, Sébastien Cunnac, and Alan Collmer "The evolution of Pseudomonas syringae host specificity and type III effector repertoires".
 
Kathy R Munkvold and Gregory B Martin "Advances in experimental methods for elucidating Pseudomonas syringae effector function with a focus on AvrPtoB".
 
James R Alfano  "Roadmap for future research on plant pathogen effectors".
 
 
Mediterranean Phytopathological Union Congress
 
The 13th Congress of the Mediterranean Phytopathological Union will take place in Rome, Italy, in June 2010 (see “Coming Events”).
 
Click here to see the 2nd circular for this Congress.
 
The provisional scientific programme is: Diagnostics of plant pathogens; Genetic variation of plant pathogens; Histological, cellular and molecular aspects of the host-parasite relationship; Disease epidemics and forecasting; Mycotoxins and mycotoxicosis; New diseases caused by biotic agents; Control strategies; Modes of action and facts concerning pesticides.
 
 
International Conference on Plant Pathogenic Bacteria
 
This Conference will be held in Saint Denis, Ile de la Réunion, France (see “Coming Events”), in June 2010 four years after the preceding one in Edinburgh.  Saint Denis is at the northern tip of La Réunion, a French island in the heart of the Indian Ocean, between Madagascar (700 km) and Mauritius (300 km). The island has a tropical climate, offering great biological diversity and also, as a result of different historical settlements, a diverse human population. It has the modern infrastructure and commodities for professional activities.
 
The organizing and scientific committees are placing special emphasis on emerging diseases, and on the development of biotechnology and the massive data flux from genomics as contributions providing new clues to old problems: evolutionary history, genomic rearrangements and speciation. It has been decided also to invite some speakers working in areas of bacteriology not related to plant pathology, in order to cover topics of interest to the community.
 
Conference facilities are limited to 300 attendees so early registration is recommended. Accommodations must be reserved through the selected bureau, or wholly independently.
 
The Scientific Committee is Philippe Prior (INRA, France), Olivier Pruvost (CIRAD, France), Carolee Bull (USDA/ARS, USA), Marie Agnes Jacques (INRA, France), Gongyou Chen (Shanghai Jiaotong University, China), Teresa Coutinho (FABI, University of  Pretoria, RSA), Mark Fegan (Australia), David Stead (FERA, UK) and Valérie Verdier (IRD, France).
 
 
Medicinal Mushroom Conference
 
Wenhua Tang, former ISPP Vice-President, sent the following information about the 5th International Medicinal Mushroom Conference, which was held during 5-8 September 2009 at Nantong city, Jiangsu province, China.
 
The conference was organized by the Mycological Society of China, the China Chamber of Commerce of Import and Export of Foodstuffs, Native Produce and Animal By-Products and the Nantong Municipal People's Government. More than five hundreds scientists from forty countries and one region attended the conference.
 
The scientific programme included the biology and products of medical mushrooms. Six sessions were organized including Taxonomy, Ecology, and Germplasm Depositories; Nutritional Attributes and Medicinal Effects; Physiology, Biochemistry, and Genetics; Cultivation, Fermentation and Industry; Use of popular and traditional medical mushrooms and Activity of specific medical mushrooms as anti-cancer and anti-HIV/AIDS agents. These agents came particularly from Ganoderma spp., Cordyceps spp., Ophiocordyceps spp. and Agaricus spp..
 
Publications available to attendees were: Proceedings of the 5th International Medicinal Mushroom Conference, 734 pp.; Abstracts of the 5th International Medical Mushroom Conference, 279 pp.; Mailing list of the 5th International Conference.  
 
See: http://www.immc5.com/.
 
 
Soybean Rust Research
 
The American Phytopathological Society, in cooperation with related organizations, will present the 2009 National Soybean Rust Symposium from 9-11 December 2009 in New Orleans (see “Coming Events”). This is an important national forum in which knowledge acquired during the first five years of soybean rust research will be discussed and strategic plans for research and response in future years will be defined.
 
In November 2004, soybean rust was discovered in the continental United States for the first time on a 5-acre production soybean field on a research farm near Baton Rouge, Louisiana. In 2009, soybean rust was found earlier in the season than in previous years and at higher levels in several locations across the southern USA. The first National Soybean Rust Symposium was held in November 2005. Questions remain on the future of soybean rust and the 2009 Symposium will offer the opportunity to gather stakeholders in one place to learn of breakthroughs, progress on initiatives, and key issues for the future.
 
The symposium program will feature presentations and discussions on the status of soybean rust in the United States, and sessions on challenges in the 2010 sentinel plot system; advances in monoclonal antibody development; wheat rust/soybean rust similarities; prediction of yield loss from soybean rust and alternative methods to manage the rust etc.
 
See: http://www.apsnet.org/online/sbr/.
 
 
Some New Papers from Australasia
 
Immediate-Past-President of the Society Greg Johnson draws attention to its journal Australasian Plant Pathology for October 2009 which is about to appear in print form and the web-site at http://www.publish.csiro.au/nid/39 showing three papers of particularly wide interest.
 
1) The distribution and spread of citrus canker in Emerald, Australia.   C F Gambley, A K Miles, M Ramsden, V Doogan, J E Thomas, K Parmenter and P J L Whittle  Australasian Plant Pathology 38 (6) 547–557.
 
Caused by Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri,  the disease previously exotic to Australia was detected on a single farm in Emerald, Queensland, in July 2004. During the following 10 months the disease was subsequently detected on two other farms within the same area, and studies indicated spread from the first site. Although the means of the first introduction remains unknown, mechanisms of spread within the later sites were worked out. An eradication campaign was completed in early 2009 and “area freedom” status for citrus canker was obtained for the Emerald growing district.
 
2) Estimating disease losses to the Australian wheat industry.  Gordon M Murray and John P Brennan  Australasian Plant Pathology 38 (6) 558–570.
 
The incidence, severity and yield loss caused by 41 pathogens were assessed from a survey of 18 wheat pathologists covering the wheat-growing areas of Australia. Survey data were combined with crop production and quality data to estimate the value of the losses. Pathogens were estimated to cause a current average loss of 19.5% ($AUD913 million) of the average annual value of the wheat crop in the decade to 2007–08. Nationally, the three most important pathogens were Pyrenophora tritici-repentis, Puccinia striiformis and Phaeosphaeria nodorum. If current controls were not used, losses would be far higher.
 
3) Development of a New Zealand database of plant virus and virus-like organisms.   J D Fletcher, R A Lister, G R G Clover, M B Horner, J E Thomas, R A A van der Vlugt and R M MacDiarmid   Australasian Plant Pathology 38 (6) 571–575.
 
The recent 8th Australasian plant virology workshop in Rotorua, New Zealand, discussed the development of a New Zealand database of plant virus and virus-like organisms. It was concluded that the preservation and verification of specimens within the collections and the development of a New Zealand database of plant virus and virus-like organisms is essential, helping to fulfil statutory requirements in New Zealand and assist in fulfilling international obligations under the International Plant Protection Convention. Connecting and associating this information to similar overseas databases would assist international collaborations and allow access to the latest taxonomic and diagnostic resources.
 
 
Management of Fusarium Head Blight
 
"Scab Smart" is the name of a new website in the USA designed to serve as a quick guide to the integrated strategies that result in optimum reduction of fusarium head blight and its primary associated mycotoxin, deoxynivalenol (DON). Scab Smart provides users with 2 ways of accessing information, directly to the management strategy or to the grain class and then to the strategy for that class.
 
Management strategy categories include variety resistance (by grain class and by state), scab forecasting, fungicides, crop rotation and other strategies (such as residue management, planting date, and harvest practices). The covered grain classes include hard red spring wheat, durum wheat, spring barley, hard red winter wheat, soft red winter wheat (broken down by northern and southern regions), soft white wheat, and hard white wheat.
 
Scab Smart's content will be updated as new management information becomes available. The website can be accessed at http://www.scabsmart.org or via the USA Wheat and Barley Scab Initiative's site at http://www.scabusa.org and clicking on the Scab Smart link.
 
 
Coming Events
 
"First International Conference of Mycops" in the Institute of Mycology and Plant Pathology, University of Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan.
9-11 November 2009.
Contact: Professor Dr Rukshana Bajwa director@mpp.pu.edu.pk or the Conference Secretary Dr Sarwar Alam drssalam@yahoo.com.
 
British Crop Production Council, BCPC Congress 2009, at the Scottish Exhibition & Conference Centre, Glasgow, United Kingdom.
9–11 November 2009.
See: www.bcpccongress.com.
 
The 2009 International Conference on Horticulture in Bangalore, Karnataka, India.
9-12 November 2009.
See: <http://www.pnasf.org/ich2009.htm>.
 
5th International Conference on Plant Pathology, with the theme "Plant pathology in the globalized era", at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India.
10-13 November 2009.
Contact: or <ipsdis@yahoo.com>.
 
2009 National Fusarium Head Blight Forum in Orlando, Florida, USA.
7-9 December 2009.
See: http://www.scabusa.org/forum09.html.
For more information, contact: scabusa@scabusa.org.
 
National Soybean Rust Symposium in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.
9-11 December 2009.
Contact: dorrance.1@osu.edu.
See: http://www.apsnet.org/online/sbr/.
 
Advances in Nematology in London, UK.
15 December 2009.
See:  http://www.aab.org.uk/.              
 
Plant Microbial Interactions: positive and negative interactions in relation to agricultural and natural ecosystem function in Grantham, UK.
15-16 December 2009. 
See:  http://www.aab.org.uk/. 
 
International Advances in Pesticide Application in Cambridge, UK.
5-7 January 2010.
See:  http://www.aab.org.uk/.                  
 
7th International Workshop on Grapevine Trunk Diseases in Santa Cruz, Chile.
17-21 January 2010.
See: http://www.icgtd.org/7IWGTD.html.
 
Global Biosecurity 2010, Safeguarding Agriculture and the Environment, at the Brisbane Convention Center, Queensland, Australia.
23 February-3 March 2010.
See: www.globalbiosecurity2010.com.
 
Phytophthora Diseases in Forest Trees and Natural Ecosystems – 5th Meeting of the IUFRO Working Group in Rotorua, New Zealand.
7-12 March 2010.
Queries to Pam Taylor, phone: +64-7-3435727, Fax: +64-7-3480952.
Email: pam.taylor@scionresearch.com.
 
14th International Congress on Infectious Diseases in Miami, Florida, USA.    (about medical matters)
9-12 March 2010.
See: http://www.isid.org/14th_icid/.
 
Plasmodesmata 2010, 7th International Conference, Sydney, Australia.
21-26 March 2010.
See: http://www.bio.usyd.edu.au/pd2010/.
Contact: pd2010@bio.usyd.edu.au.
 
IX International Mango Symposium in Sanya, Hainan Island, China.
8-12 April 2010.
See: http://www.mango2010.cn.
 
Climate Change and the Implications for Plant Protection Symposium at the University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
25-27 May 2010.
See: www.cropprotection.open.uoguelph.ca.
 
The 12th International Conference on Plant Pathogenic Bacteria 2010 at Saint-Denis, Ile de La Reunion.
7-11 June 2010.
See: http://www.icppb2010.org
 
13th Congress of the Mediterranean Phytopathological Union in Rome, Italy.
13-18 June 2010.
See: http://www.cra-pavevents.com/.
Contact: mpucongress.2010@entecra.it.
 
International Plant Virus Epidemiology Symposium in Cornell, New York, USA.
20-24 June 2010.
See: http://www.isppweb.org/ICPVE/.
Contact: Professor Alberto Fereres at afereres@ccma.csic.es.
 
12th IUPAC International Congress of Pesticide Chemistry in Melbourne, Australia.
4-8 July 2010.
See: http://www.iupacicpc2010.org/.
 
XVII Congress of the Federation of European Societies of Plant Biology (FESPB) in Valencia, Spain.
4-9 July 2010.  
See: http://www.geyseco.es/fespb/principal.php?seccion=general.
Contact: fespb2010@geyseco.es.
 
34th International Carrot Conference in Kennewick, Washington State, USA.
26-28 July 2010.
See: http://www.pnva.org/carrotconf/.
Contact: Lindsey DuToit dutoit@wsu.edu.
 
9th International Mycological Congress (IMC9) “The Biology of Fungi” in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK.
1-6 August 2010.
See: http://www.imc9.info/.
 
19th World Congress of Soil Science in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
1-6 August 2010.
See: http://www.19wcss.org.au/.
 
APS Annual Meeting 2010 at Opryland, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
7-11 August 2010.
See: <http://www.apsnet.org>.
 
6th Australasian Soilborne Diseases Symposium at Twin Waters, Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia.
9-11 August 2010.
See: http://www.asds6.org/.
 
XXVIII International Horticultural Congress (IHC2010) in Lisbon, Portugal.
22-27 August 2010.
Contact: info@ihc2010.org.
See: http://www.ihc2010.org.
 
The 8th International Conference on Pseudomonas syringae and Related Pathogens in Oxford, UK.
31 August-3 September 2010.
See: <www.reading.ac.uk/Psyringae2010>.
Contact: .
 
3rd AAB Symposium on Potato Cyst Nematodes in Newport, UK.
14-15 September 2010.        
See:  http://www.aab.org.uk/. 
 
Climate Change and Plant Disease Management Meeting in Évora, Portugal.
10-12 November 2010.
A collaborative effort by KNPV, APS and EFPP.
 
International Meeting on Emerging Diseases and Surveillance in Vienna, Austria.  (medical matters)
4-7 February 2011.
See: http://imed.isid.org/.
 
International Congress of Postharvest Pathology in Lleida, Spain.
13-15 April 2011.
 
18th Biennial Australasian Plant Pathology Meeting and 4th Asian Conference for Plant Pathology at the Darwin Convention Centre, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.
27-29 April 2011.
Watch: <http://www.australasianplantpathologysociety.org.au/>.
 
XVIII International Botanical Congress – 2011 in Melbourne, Australia.
24–30 July 2011.
See: http://www.ibc2011.com/.
 
Joint Meeting of APS and IAPPS in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA.
6-10 August 2011.
See: http://www.apsnet.org.
 
10th International Congress of Plant Pathology (ICPP2013) in Beijing, China.
25-30 August 2013.
Contact: Professor You-Liang Peng, Department of Plant Pathology, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, PR China. Phone: +86-10-62733607; Fax: +86-10-62733607.
e-mail: president@cspp.org.cn .
See: http://www.icppbj2013.org/.

return to top