Abstract

Verticillium wilt of oilseed rape (Brassica napus) is caused primarily by Verticillium longisporum and has become a serious problem in northern Europe. In order to evaluate whether V. longisporum and V. dahliae differ in their interaction with oilseed rape, phenotypical and molecular assessments were made. Oilseed rape plants for fungal assessments were inoculated with V. longisporum and V. dahliae via root-dipping and samples were taken from roots, stems, leaves, flowers, pods and seeds during plant development. The infection by V. longisporum was found to start mainly in lateral roots and root-hairs, followed by colonization of the xylem vessels and extensive spread in stems and leaves, whereas V. dahliae infected the main roots and remained in the region below the cotyledon node of the plants. Re-isolation studies, together with PCR analysis of samples taken from early growth stages through to fully ripe plants, showed that the onset of flowering was a critical phase for V. longisporum to colonize plants. No seeds infected with V. longisporum were found. Mycelial growth from V. dahliae but not V. longisporum was significantly reduced on media containing tissue from a low glucosinolate B. napus genotype compared with growth on media containing tissue from a high glucosinolate cultivar. The results of this study suggest that V. longisporum favours B. napus as host and that the transition from the vegetative to the generative phase is of importance for the spread of the fungus in oilseed rape plants

Published in

Plant Pathology
2006, Volume: 55, number: 1, pages: 137-144
Publisher: BLACKWELL PUBLISHING

SLU Authors

• Dixelius, Christina

  • Department of Plant Biology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

UKÄ Subject classification

Agricultural Science


Publication identifier

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3059.2005.01311.x

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/8351