Spread, impact, and origin of Diplodia sapinea in the world and in Estonia
Laen...
Kuupäev
2026
Kättesaadavus
Autorid
Ajakirja pealkiri
Ajakirja ISSN
Köite pealkiri
Kirjastaja
Estonian University of Life Sciences
Abstrakt
Emerging and invasive pathogens pose a growing threat to tree nurseries and forests, a risk
that is intensified by rapid climate change. The focus of my PhD thesis is Diplodia sapinea,
the causal agent of Diplodia tip blight, which recently, since the beginning of the 21st century,
has become an emerging pathogen in Northern Europe. The fungus’ universal lifestyle
encompasses endophytic, saprotrophic, and pathogenic stages. the fungus can infect roots,
stem, wood, shoots, needles, cones, and seeds regardless of host age, making the fungus
exceptionally versatile in general and dangerous during epidemics. Therefore, one of the aims
of my PhD thesis is to analyze the relationships between spore dissemination and weather
factors like temperature, rainfall, air humidity, and wind. This information will be beneficial
for nurseries to apply prophylactic fungicides more efficiently, and together with systematic
preliminary surveys allows for evaluating the potential risk of disease spread.
Another key factor in protecting pines in nurseries and forest stands is to focus on the
genetics of host and the pathogen. Thus, my PhD thesis aims to perform a population genetic
analysis using various D. sapinea populations from across the world, including not yet
analyzed population from Asia. This will help determine the potential origin and pathways of
spread of D. sapinea, as well as identify pathogen genotypes with higher virulence. I believe
this course will be very beneficial in laying a solid foundation for this topic of my thesis. In
addition, my PhD thesis aims to analyze the occurrence and extent of damage by D. sapinea
in young pine stands using long-term survey data across Estonia as well as analyze the pines
genotypic resistance against the fungus based on survey data collected since 2021 from
progeny trial areas in Estonia.
Kirjeldus
Märksõnad
Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris), spore trap, qPCR, weather conditions, populations, genetics, presentations