- Ås, Norway
Carl Gunnar Fossdal
Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO), Forest Health, Department Member
- Head of Department Forest Health, NIBIO. Research Professor. Dr. Scient. Biotechnology.edit
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Epigenetic memory affects the timing of bud burst phenology and the expression of bud burst-related genes in genetically identical Norway spruce epitypes in a manner usually associated with ecotypes. In Norway spruce, a... more
Epigenetic memory affects the timing of bud burst phenology and the expression of bud burst-related genes in genetically identical Norway spruce epitypes in a manner usually associated with ecotypes. In Norway spruce, a temperature-dependent epigenetic memory established during embryogenesis affects the timing of bud burst and bud set in a reproducible and predictable manner. We hypothesize that the clinal variation in these phenological traits, which is associated with adaptation to growth under frost-free conditions, has an epigenetic component. In Norway spruce, dehydrins (DHNs) have been associated with extreme frost tolerance. DHN transcript levels decrease gradually prior to flushing, a time when trees are highly sensitive to frost. Furthermore, EARLY BUD BREAK 1 genes (EBB1) and the FT-TFL1-LIKE 2-gene (PaFTL2) were previously suggested to be implied in control of bud phenology. Here we report an analysis of transcript levels of 12 DHNs, 3 EBB1 genes and FTL2 in epitypes of t...
Research Interests: Plant Biology and Planta
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Spesiell sopp Det vanlige er at rotkjuka angriper grana via røtter og sår og ødelegger stammen opp til ti meter fra angrepspunktet. Det spesielle med rotkjuka er at den kan velge om den skal nyttiggjøre seg cellulosen og/eller ligninet i... more
Spesiell sopp Det vanlige er at rotkjuka angriper grana via røtter og sår og ødelegger stammen opp til ti meter fra angrepspunktet. Det spesielle med rotkjuka er at den kan velge om den skal nyttiggjøre seg cellulosen og/eller ligninet i et tre. Soppen kan altså la områder med ren cellulose bli stående urørt etter at ligninet er fjernet. Dette åpner for muligheten av å bruke enzymer fra rotkjuke til å løse opp og fjerne ligninet slik at cellulosen blir lettere tilgengelig for produksjon av bioetanol (se faktabokser).
Trees cover over one-third of the world's land area and carry out about two-thirds of global photosynthesis. Coniferous forests cover 1.2 billion hectares of Alaska, Canada, Scandinavia, and Russia, and comprise one-fourth of the... more
Trees cover over one-third of the world's land area and carry out about two-thirds of global photosynthesis. Coniferous forests cover 1.2 billion hectares of Alaska, Canada, Scandinavia, and Russia, and comprise one-fourth of the world's boreal and temperate forests. More than 50% of Scandinavia's land area consists of forests, mostly coniferous. Information about the molecular responses in trees to biotic and abiotic factors is therefore of great importance-both scientifically and practically. Generation of expressed sequence ...
In woody plants of the temperate zone short photoperiod (SD) leads to growth cessation. In angiosperms CONSTANS (CO) or CO-like genes play an important role in the photoperiodic control of flowering, tuberisation and shoot growth. To... more
In woody plants of the temperate zone short photoperiod (SD) leads to growth cessation. In angiosperms CONSTANS (CO) or CO-like genes play an important role in the photoperiodic control of flowering, tuberisation and shoot growth. To investigate the role of CO-like genes in photoperiodic control of shoot elongation in gymnosperms, PaCOL1 and PaCOL2 were isolated from Norway spruce. PaCOL1 encodes a 3.9 kb gene with a predicted protein of 444 amino acids. PaCOL2 encodes a 1.2 kb gene with a predicted protein of 385 amino ...
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Woody plants in boreal to arctic environments and high mountains survive prolonged exposure to temperatures below -40°C and minimum temperatures below -60°C, and laboratory tests show that many of these species can also survive immersion... more
Woody plants in boreal to arctic environments and high mountains survive prolonged exposure to temperatures below -40°C and minimum temperatures below -60°C, and laboratory tests show that many of these species can also survive immersion in liquid nitrogen at -196°C. Studies of biochemical changes that occur during acclimation, including recent proteomic and metabolomic studies, have identified changes in carbohydrate and compatible solute concentrations, membrane lipid composition, and proteins, notably dehydrins, that may have important roles in survival at extreme low temperature (ELT). Consideration of the biophysical mechanisms of membrane stress and strain lead to the following hypotheses for cellular and molecular mechanisms of survival at ELT: (1) Changes in lipid composition stabilize membranes at temperatures above the lipid phase transition temperature (-20 to -30°C), preventing phase changes that result in irreversible injury. (2) High concentrations of oligosaccharides promote vitrification or high viscosity in the cytoplasm in freeze-dehydrated cells, which would prevent deleterious interactions between membranes. (3) Dehydrins bind membranes and further promote vitrification or act stearically to prevent membrane-membrane interactions.
A quantitative multiplex real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) procedure was developed to assess the extent of Heterobasidion annosum (Fr.) Bref. growth in Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carr.) bark and wood and to determine... more
A quantitative multiplex real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) procedure was developed to assess the extent of Heterobasidion annosum (Fr.) Bref. growth in Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carr.) bark and wood and to determine correlations between lesion length and fungal colonization. Based on lesion length and real-time PCR, the responses of four 3-year-old Sitka spruce clones to inoculation with H. annosum were characterized as showing either resistance or susceptibility to the pathogen. In susceptible clones, the extent of bark colonization did not differ from the visible length of the bark lesion, whereas lesions were longer than the extent of fungal colonization in resistant clones. The resistant clones contained considerably less fungal DNA than the susceptible clones, relative to the amount of host DNA in both the bark and the wood, indicating less resistance and more host cell death in the susceptible clones following inoculation. In both resistant and susceptible...
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The demand for bioenergy caused an increased use of logging residues, branches and treetops that were previously left on the ground after harvesting. Residues are stored outdoors in piles and it is unclear to what extent fungi transform... more
The demand for bioenergy caused an increased use of logging residues, branches and treetops that were previously left on the ground after harvesting. Residues are stored outdoors in piles and it is unclear to what extent fungi transform this material. Our objective was to quantify the amount of wood degrading fungi during storage using quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) to detect basidiomycetous DNA in logging residues, a novel approach in this field. We found that the qPCR method was accurate in quantifying the fungal DNA during storage. As the moisture content of the piled logging residues decreased during the storage period, the fungal DNA content also decreased. Scots pine residues contained more fungal DNA than residues from Norway spruce. Loose piles had generally more fungal DNA than bundled ones.
In spring 2002, an unusual disease outburst was recorded on Norway spruce seedlings in southeast Norway. Extensive damage was recorded on 1- and 2-year-old Norway spruce seedlings that either had wintered in nursery cold storage or had... more
In spring 2002, an unusual disease outburst was recorded on Norway spruce seedlings in southeast Norway. Extensive damage was recorded on 1- and 2-year-old Norway spruce seedlings that either had wintered in nursery cold storage or had been planted out in autumn 2001. The damage was characterized by leader shoot dieback and stem necroses on the upper or lower part of the shoot from 2001. Gremmeniella abietina and a Phomopsis sp. frequently were isolated from the diseased seedlings. Internal transcribed spacer (ITS) ribosomal (r)DNA sequence analysis and random amplified microsatellites profiling indicated that the G. abietina strains associated with diseased nursery seedlings belonged to the large-tree type (LTT) ecotype of the European race of G. abietina var. abietina, and inoculation tests confirmed their pathogenicity on Norway spruce. Based on ITS rDNA sequence analysis, the Phomopsis strains associated with diseased seedlings did not represent any characterized Phomopsis spp. ...
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We studied the defense reactions of 33-year-old susceptible and resistant clones of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) to the major root-rot fungus Heterobasidion annosum (Fr.) Bref. and determined if tissue cultures can be used as a... more
We studied the defense reactions of 33-year-old susceptible and resistant clones of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) to the major root-rot fungus Heterobasidion annosum (Fr.) Bref. and determined if tissue cultures can be used as a model system for studying defense responses of mature trees at the molecular level. Quantitative PCR analysis of genomic DNA obtained from samples taken at different times along the lesion length in living bark indicated that the fungus was present in higher amounts and extended further into the host tissue in the susceptible clone than in the resistant clone. In protein extracts from the same lesion samples, there were differences in temporal and spatial changes in host chitinase isoform profiles between the resistant and susceptible clones. Host chitinase isoforms with pI values approximately 4.8, 4.4 and 3.7 increased more during the first 7 days after wounding and inoculation and extended further along the lesion length in the resistant clone t...
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Research Interests: Multidisciplinary, Extracellular Matrix, Norway, real time PCR, Plant diseases, and 17 moreWhite Rot Fungi, Applied Environmental Microbiology, Polymerase Chain Reaction, Boreal Forest, Secondary Metabolites, Spatial Pattern, Phenolic compound, Picea, Wood Decay, Picea abies, Norway Spruce, Root System, Host Pathogen Interactions, Host Range, Wood Density, Cell Wall, and BASIDIOMYCOTA
The root-rot causing fungus Heterobasidion annosum sensu lato is the most devastating pathogen of conifers in Europe. This pathogen enters Norway spruce through the roots and can colonize the tree from within, growing as a saprophyte when... more
The root-rot causing fungus Heterobasidion annosum sensu lato is the most devastating pathogen of conifers in Europe. This pathogen enters Norway spruce through the roots and can colonize the tree from within, growing as a saprophyte when established within the dead heartwood and acting as a necrotroph when in contact with living host tissue. Despite the high incidence of damage, trees have defences against this pathogen in the bark and living wood. Furthermore, spruce has a defense against internal attack by forming a reaction ...
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Plants are exposed to a great number of microorganisms under natural conditions. Pathogenic fungi and oomycetes are the main factors contributing to plant diseases, thus further understanding of plant-pathogen interactions may provide... more
Plants are exposed to a great number of microorganisms under natural conditions. Pathogenic fungi and oomycetes are the main factors contributing to plant diseases, thus further understanding of plant-pathogen interactions may provide information leading to new strategies for reducing the damage caused by these pathogens on economically important trees and crops.
A quantitative multiplex real-time PCR procedure was developed to monitor the dynamics in Norway spruce (Heterobasidion annosum) pathosystem. The assay reliably detected down to 1 pg of H. annosum DNA and 1 ng of host DNA in multiplex... more
A quantitative multiplex real-time PCR procedure was developed to monitor the dynamics in Norway spruce (Heterobasidion annosum) pathosystem. The assay reliably detected down to 1 pg of H. annosum DNA and 1 ng of host DNA in multiplex conditions. As a comparative method for quantifying fungal colonization, we applied the ergosterol assay. There was a very high correlation between the results obtained with the two methods, this strengthening the credibility of both assays. The advantages and disadvantages of these ...
Résumé/Abstract In this study we have investigated whether the defensin-like gene spi 1, isolated from Norway spruce, contributes to quantitative disease resistance and is a suitable candidate for utilisation in Norway spruce breeding... more
Résumé/Abstract In this study we have investigated whether the defensin-like gene spi 1, isolated from Norway spruce, contributes to quantitative disease resistance and is a suitable candidate for utilisation in Norway spruce breeding programmes. The following questions have been raised:(1) Can the putative defense gene, spi 1, improve the defense towards microbial pathogens in a model plant species, tobacco?(2) Is it possible to produce transgenic plants of Norway spruce that overexpress spi 1 and are less susceptible to the ...
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•Parasitism and saprotrophic wood decay are two fungal strategies fundamental for succession and nutrient cycling in forest ecosystems. An opportunity to assess the trade-off between these strategies is provided by the forest pathogen and... more
•Parasitism and saprotrophic wood decay are two fungal strategies fundamental for succession and nutrient cycling in forest ecosystems. An opportunity to assess the trade-off between these strategies is provided by the forest pathogen and wood decayer Heterobasidion annosum sensu lato.•We report the annotated genome sequence and transcript profiling, as well as the quantitative trait loci mapping, of one member of the species complex: H. irregulare. Quantitative trait loci critical for pathogenicity, and rich in transposable elements, orphan and secreted genes, were identified.•A wide range of cellulose-degrading enzymes are expressed during wood decay. By contrast, pathogenic interaction between H. irregulare and pine engages fewer carbohydrate-active enzymes, but involves an increase in pectinolytic enzymes, transcription modules for oxidative stress and secondary metabolite production.•Our results show a trade-off in terms of constrained carbohydrate decomposition and membrane transport capacity during interaction with living hosts. Our findings establish that saprotrophic wood decay and necrotrophic parasitism involve two distinct, yet overlapping, processes.Parasitism and saprotrophic wood decay are two fungal strategies fundamental for succession and nutrient cycling in forest ecosystems. An opportunity to assess the trade-off between these strategies is provided by the forest pathogen and wood decayer Heterobasidion annosum sensu lato.We report the annotated genome sequence and transcript profiling, as well as the quantitative trait loci mapping, of one member of the species complex: H. irregulare. Quantitative trait loci critical for pathogenicity, and rich in transposable elements, orphan and secreted genes, were identified.A wide range of cellulose-degrading enzymes are expressed during wood decay. By contrast, pathogenic interaction between H. irregulare and pine engages fewer carbohydrate-active enzymes, but involves an increase in pectinolytic enzymes, transcription modules for oxidative stress and secondary metabolite production.Our results show a trade-off in terms of constrained carbohydrate decomposition and membrane transport capacity during interaction with living hosts. Our findings establish that saprotrophic wood decay and necrotrophic parasitism involve two distinct, yet overlapping, processes.