Research

Trichoderma harzianum was recently identified as the causative agent of ear rot in maize in Europe (Pfordt et al. 2020). While some strains of this species cause significant damage and yield losses, others are non-pathogenic and live as saprophytes in the soil (Pfordt et al. 2020). A similar phenomenon has been demonstrated for the vascular pathogen Verticillium longisporum, which is important worldwide in oilseed rape. Various lineages differing in their virulence properties have been identified (Novakazi et al. 2015, Vega-Marin et al. 2024), including strains that can be classified as non-pathogenic in oilseed rape.
Based on these observations, comparative genome analyses of well-characterized strains of both species are being conducted within the PathoGen project. The goal is to detect differences between pathogenic and non-pathogenic isolates that could causally explain this difference in pathogenicity. Based on this, diagnostic primer combinations will be developed and tested that allow the specific detection of pathogenic strains in different sample types. The project not only aims to gain fundamental knowledge but also pursues an application-oriented goal by developing an innovative, genome sequence-based diagnostic method for the identification of pathogenic and non-pathogenic fungi in soil and plant samples, which can contribute to integrated pest management.

References:

• Novakazi, F., Inderbitzin, P., Sandoya, G., Hayes, R.J., von Tiedemann, A., K.V. Subbarao 2015: The three lineages of the diploid hybrid Verticillium longisporum differ in virulence and pathogenicity. Phytopathology 105, 662-673. DOI: 10.1094/PHYTO-10-14-0265-R
• Pfordt, A., Schiwek, S., Karlovsky, P., A. von Tiedemann A 2020: Trichoderma afroharzianum ear rot – A new disease on maize in Europe. Frontiers in Agronomy, 2, 236. DOI: 10.3389/fagro.2020.547758.
• Vega-Marin, M., Obermeier, C., Koopmann, B., Zheng, X., Snowdon, R., A. von Tiedemann 2024: Phenotypic and phylogenetic analysis of Verticillium longisporum strains from European and Canadian oilseed rape fields. Plant Pathology, 74, 196–209. DOI: 10.1111/ppa.14009.

Project team:

• Dr. Annette Pfordt, Dr. Birger Koopmann, Prof. Andreas von Tiedemann, Abteilung Pflanzenpathologie, Department für Nutzpflanzenwissenschaften, Universität Göttingen
• Dr. Dominic Simm, Dr. Martin Kollmar, GOENOMICS, Göttingen
  

  

Funding:
The PathoGen project is funded by the NBank Niedersachsen in co-financing with the European Union (GOENOMICS: ZW 3- 87033777, UniGoe: ZW 3- 87035498).

• Compatibility of agricultural productivity and biodiversity through damage thresholds and digital technologies (BLE-funded project GoodWeedBadWeed)
• Validation of the HRAC classification of inhibitors of very long-chain fatty acid synthesis (project funded by CropLife International)
• Extent, cause and regulation of metabolic flufenacet resistance in ryegrass (Lolium spp.) (Walter Benjamin Fellowship funded by DFG)
• Metabolic resistance of grass weeds against pre-emergence herbicides