WWETAC Projects
Project Title: Genetic characterization of guava rust (Puccinia psidii): Evaluating pathways of spread and assessing future threats
Status: Ongoing
Principal Investigator: Ned Klopfenstein, USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS)
Collaborators: Acelino C. Alfenas, Rodrigo N. Graca, and Cristina P. Aun, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, MG, Brazil; Tobin L. Peever, Washington State University, Pullman, WA; Amy L. Ross-Davis, Western Forestry & Conservation Association and USDA FS, RMRS; Mee-Sook Kim, Kookmin University, Seoul, Korea; Phil G. Cannon, USDA Forest Service, Forest Health Protection, Vallejo, CA; Janice Uchida and Chris Y. Kadooka, University of Hawai‘i at Mänoa, Honolulu, HI; Robert D. Hauff, Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources, Honolulu, HI
E-mail Contact: Ned Klopfenstein, nklopfenstein[at]fs.fed.us
Key Issue/Problem Addressed: Puccinia psidii is the cause of rust disease of many host species in the Myrtaceae family, including guava, eucalyptus, rose apple, and ohia (Farr and Rossman 2010) (Figure 1). First reported in 1884 on guava in Brazil (Maclachlan 1938), the rust has since been detected in other South America countries (Argentina, Colombia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Venezuela) (Chardon and Toro 1934; Kern et al. 1933; Kobayashi 1984; Lindquist 1982), Central America (Costa Rica, and Panama) (Berndt 2004; Perdomo-Sanchez and Piepenbring 2008), the Caribbean (Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, Virgin Islands) (Baker and Dale 1948; Dale 1955; Kern et al. 1933; Spaulding 1961; Stevenson 1975), Mexico (Gallegos and Cummins 1981), USA (Florida, California, and Hawaii) (Mellano 2006; Rayachhetry et al. 1997; Uchida et al. 2006), and most recently Japan (Kawanishi et al. 2009).
Figure 1. Hosts of guava rust caused by Puccinia psidii. (A. Eugenia uniflora; B. Psidium guajava; C. Myrciaria cauliflora; D. Metrosideros polymorpha) (from Alfenas et al. 2009).
Of present concern is the recent introduction of the rust pathogen to Hawaii, where it infects an endemic tree species known as ohia (Metrosideros polymorpha), the dominant tree species in Hawaii’s remnant native forests. Furthermore, the introduction of additional rust strains could further threaten forests in Hawaii (Loope and La Rosa 2008). Of special note is that Uredo rangelii, which DNA sequence data place into the P. psidii complex, was reported for the first time in Australia where it infected three different myrtaceous hosts (Carnegie et al . 2010). Thus, guava rust also poses serious threats to several hosts in the Myrtaceae including Eucalyptus, a genus native to Australia, which is planted extensively in numerous tropical and subtropical countries (Booth et al. 2000; Ciesla et al. 1996; Coutinho et al. 1998; Glen et al. 2007; Tommerup et al. 2003). Despite the potential threats to numerous world-wide forest ecosystems and the expanding geographic range of this disease, little is known about the genetic structure of pathogen populations, migratory routes and sources of introductions. Genetic characterization of P. psidii populations will provide insights into the evolution, spread, and potential migratory routes of this invasive pathogen.
Study Objectives and Goals: The overall objectives of this project are to identify the origin of P. psidii races that have been introduced to the USA (especially Hawaiian races), evaluate pathways of its spread, and assess future risk. We propose to 1) develop genetic markers to distinguish among existing rust races; 2) estimate the genetic diversity within P. psidii populations across its native range and recent introduction areas; and 3) identify pathways of spread through genetic analyses. This information will help identify rust races that pose threats to global populations of Myrtaceae and prevent their introduction into new regions.
General Description: To determine population genetic structure of the pathogen, approximately 150 single-uredinial isolates of P. psidii have been collected from diverse host species and locations in Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay, and scored for variation at 10 microsatellite loci. Additional, 49 isolates have been collected from Metrosideros polymorpha, M. excelsa, Eugenia koolauensis, Syzygium jambos and Rodomyrthus sp. in three Hawaiian Islands (Oahu, Kauai, and Big Island) and scored for variation at 7 microsatellite loci (Zhong et al. 2007). Collaborators are currently being sought to sample isolates from other global regions such as, California, Florida, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Venezuela and Japan. Collections from these diverse geographic locations will facilitate inferences about the spread of this rust pathogen throughout the world.
Status: DNA has been extracted from P. psidii isolates from Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, and USA (Hawaii), and microsatellite markers have been produced and scored. Genetic analyses are currently underway, and manuscripts are in preparation. Additional isolates from other locations continue to be sought.
Products: The following presentations are related to this project:
Alfenas et al., 2009. Clonagem e doenças do eucalipto. Editora UFV, 2edicao. Viçosa, MG, Brasil. 500p.
Graca, R.N., Ross-Davis, A.L., Kim, M.-S., Alfenas, A.C., Peever, T.L., Cannon, P.G., Klopfenstein, N.B. 2010. Molecular genetic studies to characterize guava rust (Puccinia psidii): An invasive pathogen of native Hawaiian forests and a potential threat to eucalypts world-wide. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, All-Scientists Meeting. 23-25 March 2010, Fort Collins, CO (poster presentation by Klopfenstein) (Abstract)
Graca, R.N., Ross-Davis, A.L., Kim, M.-S., Alfenas, A.C., Peever, T.L., Cannon, P.G., Klopfenstein, N.B. 2010. Molecular population genetics of guava rust (Puccinia psidii): An invasive pathogen of native Hawaiian forests and a potential threat to eucalypts world-wide. 4th IUFRO International Rusts of Forest Trees Working Party Conference. 3-6 May 2010, Aula Bosio dell’Istituto di Scienze Militari Aeronautiche, Florence, Italy. (invited poster presentation).
Cannon, P.G., Graca, R.G., Kim, M.-S., Klopfenstein, N.B., Alfenas, A.C. 2010. Guava Rust (Puccinia psidii): a potential threat to important Myrtaceae in the Pacific. XXIII IUFRO World Congress, G-06:Alien invasive pathogens: threats to forest ecosystem integrity and services. 23-28 August 2010, Seoul, South Korea (invited oral presentation by Cannon) published abstract.
Graca, R.N., Ross-Davis, A.L., Kim, M.-S., Alfenas, A.C., Peever, T.L., Cannon, P.G., Klopfenstein, N.B. 2010. Toward understanding genetic relationships among populations of guava rust (Puccinia psidii): An invasive pathogen of native Hawaiian forests and a potential threat to eucalypts world-wide 58th annual Western International forest Disease Work Conference (WIFDWC). 4-8 October 2010, Valemount, BC, Canada. (poster presented by Klopfenstein and Cannon)
In addition, multiple offered and refereed papers are in preparation as part of the Ph.D. of Rodrigo Neves Graca.
Background Citations:
Alfenas, A.C.; Zauza, E.A.V.; Mafia, R.G.; Assis, T.F. 2009. Clonagem e doen¸cas do eucalipto. 2nd edition. (Editora UFV: Viscosa) 500 p.
Baker, R.E.D.; Dale, W.T. 1948. Fungi of Barbados and the Windward Islands. Mycol. Pap. 25: 1-26.
Berndt, R. 2004. A checklist of Costa Rican rust fungi. Pages 185-236 in Agerer, R., M. Piepenbring, and P. Blanz. Frontiers in Basidiomycete Mycology. IHW-Verlag. 428 p.
Booth, T.H.; Old, K. M.; Jovanovic, T.A. 2000. Preliminary assessment of high risk areas for Puccinia psidii (Eucalyptus rust) in the neotropics and Australia. Agriculture Ecosystems Environment 82: 295-301.
Carnegie, A.J, Lidbetter, J.R., Walker, J., Horwood, M.A., Tesoriero, L., Glen, M., and Priest, M.J. 2010. Uredo rangelii, a taxon of the guava rust complex, newly recorded on Myrtaceae in Australia. Australasian Plant Pathology 39: 463-466.
Chardon, C.E.; Toro, R.A. 1934. Mycological Explorations of Venezuela. Monogr. Univ. Puerto Rico, B 2: 1-351.
Ciesla, W.M.; Diekmann, M.; Putter, C.A.J. 1996, FAO/IPGRI Technical Guidelines for the Safe Movement of Germplasm, No. 17: Eucalyptus spp., United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, 66 p.
Coutinho, T.A.; Wingfield, M.J.; Alfenas, A.C.; Crous, P.W. 1998. Eucalyptus rust: a disease with the potential for serious international implications. Plant disease 82: 819-925.
Dale, W.T. 1955. A preliminary list of Jamaican Uredinales. Mycol. Pap. 60: 1-21.
Gallegos, H.M.L.; Cummins G.B. 1981. Uredinales (Royas) de Me´xico (in Spanish). SARH, Culiaca´n.
Glen, M.; Alfenas, A.C.; Zauza, E.A.; Wingfield, M.J.; Mohammed, C.L. 2007. Puccinia psidii: a threat to the Australian environment and economy – a review. Australasian Plant Pathology 36: 1-16.
Kawanishi, T.; Uematsu, S.; Kakishima, M.; Kagiwada, S.; Hamamoto, H.; Horie, H.; Namba, S. 2009. First report of rust disease on ohia and the causal fungus, Puccinia psidii, in Japan. J Gen Plant Pathol. 75:428–431.
Kern, F.D.; Thurston, H.W., Jr.; Whetzel, H.H. 1933. Annotated index of the rusts of Colombia. Mycologia 25: 448-503.
Kobayashi, T. 1984. Notes on fungi parasitic to woody plants in Paraguay. Trans. Mycol. Soc. Japan 25: 255-273.
Lindquist, J.C. 1982. Royas de la Republica Argentina y Zonas Limitrofes. Inst. Nacional de Tecnologia Agropecuaria., 574 p.
Loope, L.; La Rosa, A.M. 2008. An analysis of the risk of introduction of additional strains of the rust Puccina psidii (‘Ohi’a rust) to Hawai’i. U.S. Geological Survey Open File Report 2008-1008, Reston, Virginia.
MacLachlan, J.D. 1938. A rust of pimento tree in Jamaica, B.W.I. Phytopathology 28:157-170.
Mellano, V. 2006. Rust on myrtle found in San Diego County. Healthy Garden—Healthy Home, University of California Cooperative Extension. Retail Nursery Newsletter, Volume 1, Issue 6, p. 3.
Perdomo-Sanchez, O.; Piepenbring, M. 2008. A new species of Puccinia (Pucciniales, Basidiomycota) and new records of rust fungi from Panama. Mycol. Progr. 7: 161-168.
Rayachhetry, M.B.; Elliott, M.T.; Van, T.K. 1997. Natural epiphytotic of the rust Puccinia psidii in Melaleuca quinquenervia in Florida. Plant Disease 81: 831.
Spaulding, P. 1961. Foreign Diseases of Forest Trees of the World. U.S.D.A. Agric. Handb. 197: 1-361.
Stevenson, J.A. 1975. Fungi of Puerto Rico and the American Virgin Islands. Contr. Reed Herb. 23: 743.
Tommerup, I.C.; Alfenas, A.C.; Old, K.M. 2003. Guava rust in Brazil – a threat to Eucalyptus and other Myrtaceae. New Zealand Journal of Forestry Science 33: 420–428.
Uchida, J., Zhong, S., Killgore, E. 2006. First report of a rust disease on Ohi’a caused by Puccinia psidii in Hawaii. Plant Disease, 90: 524.
Zhong, S., Yang, B., Alfenas, A.C. (2008). Development of microsatellite markers for the guava rust fungus, Puccinia psidii. Molecular Ecology Resources, 8: 348–350.
Project ID: FY10TS82
