Detection and Ecology of Sudden Oak Death

Download or read book Detection and Ecology of Sudden Oak Death written by Frances Seton Ockels and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Abstract: Phytophthora ramorum, the causal agent of Sudden Oak Death, is a recently discovered disease, which was first observed killing tanoaks in Mann County, California in the mid 1 990s. Since then the pathogen has been found in fourteen coastal counties in California and one southwestern county in Oregon and has killed thousands of oaks and tanoaks in forests and urban-forest interfaces. In these areas, the pathogen is having a dramatic ecological impact by changing resource availability upon which many invertebrates and vertebrates depend. Additionally, P. ramorum infects a large variety of ornamental plants that are common in the nursery industry. Many of the host species of P. ramorum are widely distributed by nurseries in California, Oregon, and across the U.S. The disease could spread across the U.S. by transporting nursery stock infected with P. ramorum. A single escape from an infested nursery into surrounding woodlands or forests in areas potentially conducive to development of the disease could be devastating. Due to the imminent threat of the pathogen spreading and to the limited knowledge of the relatively newly discovered pathogen, this research had two main objectives. The first objective was to monitor the spread of P. ramorum in the eastern U.S., while the second objective was to investigate ecological aspects of the disease in the forests of California by examining the response of coast live oaks and ambrosia beetles to P. ramorum infection. The spread ofF. ramorum was monitored through our participation in the U.S. Forest Service National Phytophthora ramorum Survey of Forest Environments in 2004 and 2005. The survey focused on prevention of spread of P. ramorum through early detection of the pathogen in nursery and forest settings. In 2004, 110 sites were surveyed in the North Central region and 620 samples were processed and analyzed, while in 2005, 168 sites were surveyed with 263 samples processed and analyzed. The results for the 2004 and 2005 surveys conducted in Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, and Wisconsin showed that the areas surveyed were P. ramorum free. The second part of this research investigated P. ramorum infected coast live oaks in the native oak woodlands of California. Specifically, the defense responses of oaks infected with P. ramorum were investigated. Additionally, the affect of Cambistat treatment on the defense responses of P. ramorum infected and healthy coast live oaks was examined. Tissue of infected and healthy coast live oaks not treated with Cambistat and tissue of infected and healthy coast live oaks treated with Cambistat were sampled, extracted, and analyzed by High Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) for the identification of pathogen induced secondary metabolites. Five secondary metabolites, gallic acid, tyrosol, and three unknown compounds were identified as being present in different amounts in sampled phloem, suggesting that at least some of these compounds might be associated with resistance to this pathogen. Furthermore, a new association between opportunistic ambrosia beetles and bleeding cankers on coast live oaks infected with P. ramorum was investigated. It is unknown how ambrosia beetles select oaks infected with P. ramorum for colonization. The goal of this part of the study was to identify volatile chemicals emitted from bleeding cankers that might be involved in attracting beetles to the diseased oaks. Volatiles were collected using Solid Phase Microextraction (SPME) fibers from vials containing bark exudate typical of P. ramorum-infected trees, infected phloem, and healthy phloem. The volatile compounds were analyzed by Gas Chromatography- Mass Spectrometry (GCMS). Eight phenolic compounds, 4-ethylphenol, 4-ethylguaiacol, 4-propylguaiacol, ethyihexanol, isooctyl mercaptoacetate, tyrosol, N-acetyltyramine, and antiarol were identified by comparing their mass spectra to two libraries, the Wiley Registry of Mass Spectral Data and the Nist Library. Future research, such as trapping experiments and coupled gas chromatography -- electroantennographic detection (GC-EAD) will determine if these compounds are behaviorally active.