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EVERY AGRICULTURAL CROP SPECIES IS SUBJECT TO INFECTION BY PLANT DISEASES. CONTROLLING THE DAMAGE CAUSED BY THESE DISEASES IS OF MAJOR CONCERN FOR A GROWING WORLD POPULATION THAT RELIES UPON THESE CROPS FOR FOOD AND OTHER NECESSARY PRODUCTS. HOWEVER, THE CURRENT APPLICATIONS USED TO CONTROL MANY PLANT DISEASES ARE HIGHLY TIME-CONSUMING AND/OR INVOLVE POTENTIALLY TOXIC CHEMICALS THAT MAY HARM HUMANS, ANIMALS, OR OTHER CROPS. ONE COMMON PLANT PATHOGEN THAT INFECTS NUMEROUS AGRICULTURALLY IMPORTANT CROP SPECIES IS A FUNGUS FROM THE GENUS FUSARIUM. FUSARIUM INFECTION OF THE AGRICULTURAL FIG SPECIES (FICUS CARICA) PRODUCES A DISEASE KNOWN AS FIG ENDOSEPSIS, WHICH CAUSES MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN LOSSES EVERY YEAR, EVEN WITH MODERN DISEASE MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES (AND SIMILAR FUSARIUM DISEASES IN OTHER CROPS ARE EVEN MORE DEVASTATING). RECENT RESEARCH IN A WILD FIG SPECIES FOUND IN NORTHERN MEXICO (FICUS PETIOLARIS) SUGGESTS THAT NEMATODE WORMS ASSOCIATED WITH THE POLLINATING WASP SPECIES OF THIS FIG MAY BE ABLE TO ELIMINATE A SIMILAR DISEASE-CAUSING FUNGUS. IT IS THE GOAL OF THIS CURRENT WORK TO DETERMINE HOW THIS NEMATODE-MEDIATED DISEASE ELIMINATION OCCURS, AND IF IT CAN BE USED TO LIMIT FUSARIUM INFECTIONS IN AGRICULTURAL FIGS (AND OTHER CROPS) IN THE US AND BEYOND.TO ADDRESS THIS, I WILL FIRST IDENTIFY THE MEXICAN WILD FIG-ASSOCIATED FUSARIUM FUNGUS TO DETERMINE HOW CLOSELY RELATED IT IS TO THE FUSARIUM SPECIES THAT CAUSES FIG ENDOSEPSIS IN THE US. I WILL THEN PERFORM EXPERIMENTS IN THE FIELD TO ATTEMPT TO UNDERSTAND EXACTLY HOW THE MEXICAN FIG-NEMATODE LIMITS FUNGAL GROWTH. I WILL TRAVEL TO THE COMMERCIAL FIG ORCHARDS IN THE CENTRAL VALLEY OF CALIFORNIA TO DETERMINE IF THE AGRICULTURALLY IMPORTANT FIG SPECIES THERE NATURALLY PRODUCES SIMILAR NEMATODE WORMS AS THOSE THAT I'VE SEEN IN MEXICO (IT IS CURRENTLY ASSUMED THAT THEY DO NOT). THE FIGS THAT ARE CURRENTLY GROWN IN CALIFORNIA WERE ORIGINALLY FROM WILD POPULATIONS IN EUROPE. IF THESE US-BASED FIG SPECIES DO NOT PRODUCE THEIR OWN NEMATODES, I WILL TRAVEL TO THESE RELATED WILD-FIGS IN SPAIN, WHICH ARE KNOWN TO CARRY NEMATODES. I WILL THEN PERFORM SIMILAR FIELD EXPERIMENTS TO UNDERSTAND IF THESE NEMATODES SIMILARLY LIMIT FUNGAL GROWTH. IF THEY DO, THEY COULD REPRESENT AN EFFICIENT, COST-EFFECTIVE, LABOR-MINIMAL, AND FUNGICIDE-FREE WAY TO TREAT FIG ENDOSEPSIS, AND POSSIBLY OTHER FUSARIUM-MEDIATED DISEASES OF IMPORTANT CROPS. ASIDE FROM IMPORTANT PRACTICAL PURPOSES OF POTENTIALLY ADDRESSING A NOTABLE PLANT DISEASE, THIS WORK MAY PROVIDE GREAT INSIGHT TO HOW COMPLEX BIOLOGICAL COMMUNITIES INTERACT, WHICH COULD PROVIDE BROAD-REACHING INSIGHTS TO MANY OTHER BIOLOGICAL COMMUNITIES, INCLUDING OUR OWN.

$164,997FY2021National Institute of Food and AgricultureUSDA

University Of Maryland, College Park, College Park MD

Investigators

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EVERY AGRICULTURAL CROP SPECIES IS SUBJECT TO INFECTION BY PLANT DISEASES. CONTROLLING THE DAMAGE CAUSED BY THESE DISEASES IS OF MAJOR CONCERN FOR A GROWING WORLD POPULATION THAT RELIES UPON THESE CROPS FOR FOOD AND OTHER NECESSARY PRODUCTS. HOWEVER, THE CURRENT APPLICATIONS USED TO CONTROL MANY PLANT DISEASES ARE HIGHLY TIME-CONSUMING AND/OR INVOLVE POTENTIALLY TOXIC CHEMICALS THAT MAY HARM HUMANS, ANIMALS, OR OTHER CROPS. ONE COMMON PLANT PATHOGEN THAT INFECTS NUMEROUS AGRICULTURALLY IMPORTANT CROP SPECIES IS A FUNGUS FROM THE GENUS FUSARIUM. FUSARIUM INFECTION OF THE AGRICULTURAL FIG SPECIES (FICUS CARICA) PRODUCES A DISEASE KNOWN AS FIG ENDOSEPSIS, WHICH CAUSES MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN LOSSES EVERY YEAR, EVEN WITH MODERN DISEASE MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES (AND SIMILAR FUSARIUM DISEASES IN OTHER CROPS ARE EVEN MORE DEVASTATING). RECENT RESEARCH IN A WILD FIG SPECIES FOUND IN NORTHERN MEXICO (FICUS PETIOLARIS) SUGGESTS THAT NEMATODE WORMS ASSOCIATED WITH THE POLLINATING WASP SPECIES OF THIS FIG MAY BE ABLE TO ELIMINATE A SIMILAR DISEASE-CAUSING FUNGUS. IT IS THE GOAL OF THIS CURRENT WORK TO DETERMINE HOW THIS NEMATODE-MEDIATED DISEASE ELIMINATION OCCURS, AND IF IT CAN BE USED TO LIMIT FUSARIUM INFECTIONS IN AGRICULTURAL FIGS (AND OTHER CROPS) IN THE US AND BEYOND.TO ADDRESS THIS, I WILL FIRST IDENTIFY THE MEXICAN WILD FIG-ASSOCIATED FUSARIUM FUNGUS TO DETERMINE HOW CLOSELY RELATED IT IS TO THE FUSARIUM SPECIES THAT CAUSES FIG ENDOSEPSIS IN THE US. I WILL THEN PERFORM EXPERIMENTS IN THE FIELD TO ATTEMPT TO UNDERSTAND EXACTLY HOW THE MEXICAN FIG-NEMATODE LIMITS FUNGAL GROWTH. I WILL TRAVEL TO THE COMMERCIAL FIG ORCHARDS IN THE CENTRAL VALLEY OF CALIFORNIA TO DETERMINE IF THE AGRICULTURALLY IMPORTANT FIG SPECIES THERE NATURALLY PRODUCES SIMILAR NEMATODE WORMS AS THOSE THAT I'VE SEEN IN MEXICO (IT IS CURRENTLY ASSUMED THAT THEY DO NOT). THE FIGS THAT ARE CURRENTLY GROWN IN CALIFORNIA WERE ORIGINALLY FROM WILD POPULATIONS IN EUROPE. IF THESE US-BASED FIG SPECIES DO NOT PRODUCE THEIR OWN NEMATODES, I WILL TRAVEL TO THESE RELATED WILD-FIGS IN SPAIN, WHICH ARE KNOWN TO CARRY NEMATODES. I WILL THEN PERFORM SIMILAR FIELD EXPERIMENTS TO UNDERSTAND IF THESE NEMATODES SIMILARLY LIMIT FUNGAL GROWTH. IF THEY DO, THEY COULD REPRESENT AN EFFICIENT, COST-EFFECTIVE, LABOR-MINIMAL, AND FUNGICIDE-FREE WAY TO TREAT FIG ENDOSEPSIS, AND POSSIBLY OTHER FUSARIUM-MEDIATED DISEASES OF IMPORTANT CROPS. ASIDE FROM IMPORTANT PRACTICAL PURPOSES OF POTENTIALLY ADDRESSING A NOTABLE PLANT DISEASE, THIS WORK MAY PROVIDE GREAT INSIGHT TO HOW COMPLEX BIOLOGICAL COMMUNITIES INTERACT, WHICH COULD PROVIDE BROAD-REACHING INSIGHTS TO MANY OTHER BIOLOGICAL COMMUNITIES, INCLUDING OUR OWN. · GrantIndex