Preserving the Biologically Coherent Generic Concept of Phytophthora, "Plant Destroyer".
| Title: | Preserving the Biologically Coherent Generic Concept of Phytophthora, "Plant Destroyer". |
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| Authors: | Brasier CM; Forest Research, Alice Holt Lodge, Farnham, GU10 4LH, Surrey, U.K.; Grünwald NJ; Horticultural Crops Disease and Pest Management Research Unit, U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, Corvallis, OR 97330, U.S.A.; Bourret TB; Mycology and Nematology Genetic Diversity and Biology Laboratory, U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville, MD 20705, U.S.A.; Govers F; Laboratory of Phytopathology, Wageningen University and Research, 6708 PB Wageningen, the Netherlands.; Scanu B; Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy.; Cooke DEL; The James Hutton Institute, Invergowrie, Dundee, DD2 5DA, U.K.; Bose T; Department of Biochemistry, Genetics, and Microbiology, Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI), University of Pretoria, Hatfield, Pretoria 0082, South Africa.; Hawksworth DL; Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, TW9 3AB, U.K.; Abad ZG; U.S. Department of Agriculture-PPQ Science & Technology, McDonough, GA 30252, U.S.A.; Albarracin MV; U.S. Department of Agriculture-APHIS, Plant Protection and Quarantine. Permitting and Compliance Coordination, Riverdale, MD 20737, U.S.A.; Alsultan W; MK Agronomy B.V., Roelofarendsveen, the Netherlands.; Altamirano-Junqueira AE; University of São Paulo, Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture. Av. Pádua Dias, 11-Agronomia, Piracicaba-SP, 13418-900, Brazil.; Arifin AR; Washington State University, Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center, Wenatchee, WA 98801, U.S.A.; Arnet MJ; The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited, Havelock North 4157, New Zealand.; Aumentado HDR; Center of Excellence in Fungal Research, Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai 57100, Thailand.; Bakonyi J; Plant Protection Institute, HUN-REN Centre for Agricultural Research, Fehérvári út 132-144, H-1116 Budapest, Hungary.; Belisle WH; California Department of Food and Agriculture, Plant Pest Diagnostics Center, Sacramento, CA 95832, U.S.A.; Benigno A; Department of Agricultural, Food, Environmental and Forest Sciences and Technologies (DAGRI), Plant Pathology and Entomology Division, University of Florence, Firenze 50144, Italy.; Bienapfl JC; U.S. Department of Agriculture-APHIS-PPQ Science and Technology, Plant Pathogen Confirmatory Diagnostics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20708, U.S.A.; Bilodeau GJ; Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Ottawa Laboratory Fallowfield, Ottawa Plant Laboratory, Ottawa K2J 4S1, Canada.; Blair JE; Franklin & Marshall College, Department of Biology, Lancaster, PA 17603, U.S.A.; Botella L; Department of Forest Protection and Wildlife Management, Phytophthora Research Centre, Mendel University in Brno, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic.; Brandano A; Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy.; Cacciola SO; Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment (Di3A), University of Catania, 100-95123 Catania, Italy.; Carbone I; Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, U.S.A.; Castroagudin VL; U.S. Department of Agriculture-APHIS-PPQ Science and Technology, Plant Pathogen Confirmatory Diagnostics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20708, U.S.A.; Chaendaekattu N; Rubber Research Institute of India, Kottayam 686009, India.; Consford JD; Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003, U.S.A.; Corcobado T; Austrian Research Centre for Forests (BFW), Department of Forest Protection, Unit of Phytopathology, 1130 Vienna, Austria.; Covey PA; Cargill, Fort Collins, CO 80525, U.S.A.; Daniels HA; Scion Research (New Zealand Forest Research Institute Limited), Rotorua 3010, New Zealand.; Deidda A; Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy.; Dorrance AE; Department of Plant Pathology, The Ohio State University, Wooster, OH 43210, U.S.A.; Dort EN; Department of Forest & Conservation Sciences, Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada.; Drenth A; The University of Queensland, Centre for Horticultural Science, Brisbane, Australia.; Drizou F; Institute of Mediterranean Forest Ecosystems, Hellenic Agricultural Organisation-Dimitra, Terma Alkmanos, 11528 Athens, Greece.; Evangelisti E; Institut Sophia Agrobiotech, UMR INRAE 1355, CNRS 7254, Université Côte d'Azur Sophia Antipolis, France.; Fajardo SN; Department of Plant Pathology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, U.S.A.; Fang Y; GreenLight Biosciences Inc., Durham, NC 27709, U.S.A.; Ference CM; U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center, Hilo, HI 96720, U.S.A.; Frankel SJ; U.S. Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station, Vallejo, CA 94592, U.S.A.; Goss EM; Department of Plant Pathology and Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, U.S.A.; Guest DI; Sydney Institute of Agriculture, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.; Hardy GESJ; Harry Butler Institute, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia.; Harris ARH; Forest Research, Alice Holt Lodge, Farnham, GU10 4LH, Surrey, U.K.; Hawku MD; Department of Crop Sciences, College of Agriculture, Animal Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, University of Rwanda, Musanze, Rwanda.; Heungens K; Flanders Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food (ILVO), Merelbeke 9820, Belgium.; Hong C; Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Virginia Beach, VA 23455, U.S.A.; Horner IJ; The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited, Havelock North 4157, New Zealand.; Jung MH; Department of Forest Protection and Wildlife Management, Phytophthora Research Centre, Mendel University in Brno, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic.; Iyanda OJ; Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti Department of Agricultural Sciences, College of Sciences, Ado-Ekiti 5454, Nigeria.; Jamieson BA; Department of Biochemistry, Genetics, and Microbiology, Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI), University of Pretoria, Hatfield, Pretoria 0082, South Africa.; Jeffers SN; Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, U.S.A.; Judelson HS; Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, U.S.A.; Junaid M; Cocoa Research Group, Faculty of Agriculture, Hasanuddin University, Kampus Unhas Tamalanrea, 90245 Makassar, Indonesia.; Kalogeropoulou E; Benaki Phytopathological Institute, Scientific Directorate of Phytopathology, Laboratory of Mycology, Athens 14561, Greece.; Kamoun S; The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7UH, U.K.; Kang S; Department of Plant Pathology and Environmental Microbiology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, U.S.A.; Kasuga T; U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, U.S.A.; Kudláček T; Department of Forest Protection and Wildlife Management, Phytophthora Research Centre, Mendel University in Brno, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic.; University of Greifswald, Institute for Mathematics and Computer Science & Center for Functional Genomics of Microbes, 17489 Greifswald, Germany.; LeBoldus J; The Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, The Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, U.S.A.; The Forest Engineering, Resources and Management Department, The Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, U.S.A.; Lee CA; California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Trinidad, CA 95570, U.S.A.; Li D; The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station Valley Laboratory, Windsor, CT 06095, U.S.A.; Llanos AK; Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina, Lima 12, Peru.; Lopez-Nicora HD; Department of Plant Pathology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, U.S.A.; Machado H; Instituto Nacional de Investigação Agrária e Veterinária I.P. Av. da República, Quinta do Marquês, 2780-159 Oeiras, Portugal.; di San Lio GM; University Mediterranea of Reggio Calabria, Department of Agriculture, 89124 Reggio Calabria, Italy.; Maia C; Centre of Marine Sciences (CCMAR), Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal.; Mandal K; CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Kolkata 700032, India.; CSIR-Human Resource Development Centre, Ghaziabad 201002, India.; Manosalva P; Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, U.S.A.; Martin FN; U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, Crop Improvement and Protection Research Unit, Salinas, CA 93905, U.S.A.; Matson MEH; Mars Incorporated, Davis, CA 95616, U.S.A.; McDougal RL; Scion Research (New Zealand Forest Research Institute Limited), Rotorua 3010, New Zealand.; McDowell JM; School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, U.S.A.; Michelmore RW; The Genome Center, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, U.S.A.; Milenković I; Department of Forest Protection and Wildlife Management, Phytophthora Research Centre, Mendel University in Brno, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic.; University of Belgrade, Faculty of Forestry, 11030 Belgrade, Serbia.; Moricca S; Department of Agricultural, Food, Environmental and Forest Sciences and Technologies (DAGRI), Plant Pathology and Entomology Division, University of Florence, Firenze 50144, Italy.; Mostowfizadeh-Ghalamfarsa R; Department of Plant Protection, School of Agriculture, Shiraz University, Shiraz 7144113131, Iran.; Nagy ZÁ; Department of Forest Protection and Wildlife Management, Phytophthora Research Centre, Mendel University in Brno, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic.; Nikolaeva EV; Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Harrisburg, PA 17110, U.S.A.; Ortega-López P; Real Jardín Botánico (RJB-CSIC), 28014 Madrid, Spain.; Paap T; Department of Biochemistry, Genetics, and Microbiology, Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI), University of Pretoria, Hatfield, Pretoria 0082, South Africa.; Parada-Rojas CH; The Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, The Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, U.S.A.; Hand FP; Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina, Lima 12, Peru.; Pérez-Sierra A; Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Agrarias Carretera, 46113 Moncada, Valencia, Spain.; Pettersson M; Division of Biotechnology and Plant Health, Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO), Ås 1431, Norway.; Prasad P; ICAR-Indian Institute of Wheat & Barley Research, Regional Station, Flowerdale, Shimla 171002, India.; Puig AS; U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service Foreign Disease-Weed Science Research Unit, Frederick, MD 21702, U.S.A.; Raco M; The Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, The Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, U.S.A.; Rajput NA; Department of Plant Pathology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan.; Ristaino JB; Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, U.S.A.; Rooney-Latham S; California Department of Food and Agriculture, Plant Pest Diagnostics Center, Sacramento, CA 95832, U.S.A.; Seidl MF; Theoretical Biology & Bioinformatics, Utrecht University, 3584CH Utrecht, Netherlands.; Shamoun SF; Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service Pacific Forestry Centre, Victoria, BC V8Z 1M5, Canada.; Solla A; Universidad de Extremadura, Faculty of Forestry, 10600 Plasencia, Spain.; Spies CFJ; Agricultural Research Council - Plant Health and Protection, Stellenbosch 7599, South Africa.; Sudermann MA; The Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, The Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, U.S.A.; Swiecki TJ; Phytosphere Research, Vacaville, CA 95687, U.S.A.; Tian M; Department of Plant Pathology, University of Georgia, Tifton, GA 31794, U.S.A.; Tripathy S; CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Kolkata 700032, India.; CSIR-Human Resource Development Centre, Ghaziabad 201002, India.; Uematsu S; Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Department of Bioregulation and Bio-interaction, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Tokyo 183-8509, Japan.; Van Poucke K; Flanders Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food (ILVO), Merelbeke 9820, Belgium.; Vichou AE; Benaki Phytopathological Institute, Scientific Directorate of Phytopathology, Laboratory of Mycology, Athens 14561, Greece.; Walter M; The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited, Havelock North 4157, New Zealand.; Webber JF; Forest Research, Alice Holt Lodge, Farnham, GU10 4LH, Surrey, U.K.; Williams NM; The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited, Havelock North 4157, New Zealand.; Wingfield MJ; Department of Biochemistry, Genetics, and Microbiology, Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI), University of Pretoria, Hatfield, Pretoria 0082, South Africa.; Yadav D; East West Seed International, Village Rambha, Indri, Nilokheri 132117, India.; Yang X; Plant and Pest Diagnostic Clinic, Department of Plant Industry, Clemson University, Pendleton, SC 29670, U.S.A.; Jung T; Department of Forest Protection and Wildlife Management, Phytophthora Research Centre, Mendel University in Brno, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic. |
| Source: | Phytopathology [Phytopathology] 2025 Jun; Vol. 115 (6), pp. 573-586. Date of Electronic Publication: 2025 Jun 21. |
| Publication Type: | Letter |
| Language: | English |
| Journal Info: | Publisher: American Phytopathological Society] Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 9427222 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Print ISSN: 0031-949X (Print) Linking ISSN: 0031949X NLM ISO Abbreviation: Phytopathology Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Original Publication: [St. Paul, Minn., etc., American Phytopathological Society] |
| MeSH Terms: | Phytophthora*/classification ; Phytophthora*/genetics ; Phytophthora*/physiology ; Plant Diseases*/microbiology ; Plant Diseases*/parasitology; Phylogeny ; Biological Evolution |
| Abstract: | Phytophthora is a long-established, well-known, and globally important genus of plant pathogens. Phylogenetic evidence has shown that the biologically distinct, obligate biotrophic downy mildews evolved from Phytophthora at least twice. Because, cladistically, this renders Phytophthora "paraphyletic," it has been proposed that Phytophthora evolutionary clades be split into multiple genera (Crous et al. 2021; Runge et al. 2011; Thines 2023, 2024). In this letter, we review arguments for the retention of the generic name Phytophthora with a broad circumscription made by Brasier et al. (2022) and by many delegates at an open workshop organized by The American Phytopathological Society. We present our well-considered responses to the genus splitting proposals, both in general terms and in terms of the specific proposals for new genera, alongside new information regarding the biological properties and mode of origin of the Phytophthora clades. We consider that the proposals are mostly non-rigorous and not supported by the scientific evidence. Further, given (i) the apparent lack of any distinguishing biological characteristics (synapomorphies) between the Phytophthora clades; (ii) the fundamental monophyly of Phytophthora in the original Haeckelian sense (Haeckel 1877); (iii) the fact that paraphyly is not a justification for taxonomic splitting; and (iv) the considerable likely damage to effective scientific communication and disease management from an unnecessary breakup of the genus, we report that workshop delegates voted unanimously in favor of preserving the current generic concept and for seeking endorsement of this view by a working group of the International Commission on the Taxonomy of Fungi. [Formula: see text] Copyright © 2025 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license. |
| Competing Interests: | The author(s) declare no conflict of interest. |
| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: Pangea; clades; cladistics; disease management; downy mildews; oomycetes; paraphyly; phylogeny; plant biosecurity; scientific communication; taxonomy |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20250312 Date Completed: 20250625 Latest Revision: 20250925 |
| Update Code: | 20260130 |
| DOI: | 10.1094/PHYTO-11-24-0372-LE |
| PMID: | 40072242 |
| Database: | MEDLINE |
Letter