Hello everyone,
For my research I want to infect Vitis Vinifera leaves with downy mildew-causing fungus Plasmopara viticola. Does anyone know where I could find or purchase this fungi? I am situated in Wageningen, the Netherlands. Any hint or direction for me to search is highly appreciated!
Thanks in advance,
Steven
Grape downy mildew is obligate oomycete phytoparasite. There is no culture collection source. The pathogen can be found in the grapd production fields in season and then cultivated and maintained in the laboration in detached leaf culture or maintained in a growth chamber or greenhouse. Look to the active researchers in this pathogen they are probably a good source of ideas.
Dear Steven,
As Paul Reed Hepperly said you, Plasmopara viticola is an obligate parasite, causing downy mildew on grapevine, and you could not buy it from culture collections. Depending of the year (temperature and moisture) you can find it, from May to August, inside vineyards where the pest control is not so good. As I know the Dutch vineyards is small, as most of them are a hobbyist activity and not for big wine production. I could suggest you to contact with some grape-growers and ask them to send you symptomatic leaves with downy mildew. Alternatively you can make an expedition in different winegrowing regions and collect samples from different cultivars of grapevine.
Wish you success!
Nikolay
You might want to collect it yourself and then transport it under the proper conditions for sporulation. I have had mixed results from isolating downy mildews from material mailed to me. I ask people to send me detached leaves housed in Petri dishes lined with moist Whatman filter paper and sealed with parafilm. I think the EU does not require permits for transport of pathogen cultures, but of course you should check that; I am required to hold a permit for every pathogen I have mailed to me from another state. Once you have the sample, you need to have host material standing by to be inoculated, and you need a safe place to house that plant material so that your test plants remain clean. I keep my cultures in detached leaf culture, and only visit my clean plants in the morning before I come into contact with my cultures. I keep detached leaf cultures in two different incubators so that I'm not out of luck if there is a power failure. Detached leaf culture is exhausting; I have managed to keep my downy mildews alive during the pandemic by coming in twice a week to transfer them, but it's been a long, long year. Other advice? Watch out for hyperparasites; if I don't transfer immediately, hyperparasites can build up. Best of luck.
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