PLP 150C1 1st Edition Lecture 4Outline of Last Lecture I. Two common fungal characteristicsII. Disease & pathogensA. Botrytis cinereaIII. SymbiosisA. Commensalism, Mutualism & ParasitismIV. Biotrophs & Semi-biotrophsV. Damping-ofOutline of Current Lecture I. What is plant pathology?II. Plant diseasesA. Irish Potato FamineB. Bengal FamineCurrent LectureWhat is Plant Pathology?• The study of organisms & non-biotic factors that cause disease• The study of environmental factors that promote disease• The study of processes by which organisms infect plants & the mechanisms by which plants defend against pathogens• The study of methods to control disease & prevent crop lossWhy study plant diseases?• Securing a stable and healthy food supply• Fundamental research in plant-microbe interactionsPlant diseases• Have changed the course of history many times. Good times & prosperity, to bad times & social instability.• Late Blight of Potatoes - In early 1800s (1825) Irish population similar to what we see in manypoor countries today, population at limits of food supply. At that time, England controlled Ireland. With the intro of potato from the “New World’, farmers could grow 3x at much food per hectare. Population doubles in 30 years! A period of economic boom, for the English who controlled Ireland. British landlords extracted as much as theycould from the Irish peasants. A very exploitive environment. This is one of the first famines where the media was involved.◦ In 1844, late blight appears in U.S. Almost 2 million migrate to the U.S. Left a huge socio-economic footprint in the U.S.▪ Heinrich Anton de Bary - founder of plant pathology. Mycologist, surgeon, botanist, microbiologist. Did a ton of work with infestans during the Irish Potato Famine.• Bengal Famine of 1943 - Asians heavily depend on just rice. 10 million died. Occurred in Bengal, several crop failures. WWII began and government closed access to Burma, the largest rice producer in the region. War created an economic boom that raised food prices and because economic struggle among the poor. In 1942 a cyclone hit, flooding much of the crop and causing perfect conditions for Helminthosporium oryzae - causal agent for brown spot disease of rice, 90% of crops failed. Very little emigration...because where would they go & how would they
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