PLANT PATHOLOGY Steps of Virus Infection

A. DISEASE TRIANGLE A virus must use cell processes to replicate.

The viral replication cycle can produce dramatic
The Disease Triangle is a fundamental concept in plant
pathology, which is the study of plant diseases, their biochemical and structural changes in the host cell,
causes, interactions, and management. This model which may cause cell damage. These changes,
helps us understand the basic factors that contribute to called cytopathic (causing cell damage) effects, can
the development of plant diseases. The concept was change cell functions or even destroy the cell. The
developed by E.C. Stakman in the early 20th century symptoms of viral diseases result from the immune
and has been widely used ever since. response to the virus, which attempts to control and
eliminate the virus from the body, and from cell
In order for a pathogenic plant disease to occur, three damage caused by the virus.
conditions must be met:
a. Attachment- the virus attaches itself to the
1. The host plant must be susceptible. outside of anew plant cell.
b. Penetration- the protein pushes the nucleic
2. An active, living pathogen must be present. acid strand into the plant cell.
c. Replication- the viruses’ nucleic acid uses the
3. The environment must be suitable or favorable for
disease development.
plant cell DNA to make many new nucleic acid
strands and protein sheathes.
d. Assembly – the nucleic acid and protein
assembly into millions of new virus copies.
e. Release – the viruses leave the cell – at this
stage the cell is normally dead and bursts
releasing the viruses.
f. Transmission – the viruses move using a
vector to new cells to infect.
Types of Viruses
Factors of Disease Development
PATHOGEN HOST ENVIRONMENT a. Helical Virus - is a virus that has a capsid
Presence of Susceptibility Temperature shaped in a filamentous or rod-shaped
Pathogen structure that has a central cavity that
Pathogenicity Growth Rainfall/Dew
stage and
encloses its nucleic acid.
form Example: Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV),
Adaptability Population Leaf In Animals, Influenza virus,
density and wetness
structure period measles virus, mumps virus, rabies
Dispersal General Soil virus, and Ebola virus
efficiency health properties
b. Polyhedral Virus- These are many-sided
Survival Wind
efficiency viruses. Their capsids can have different
Reproductive Fire history numbers of sides. It have nucleic acid. It
fitness
Air pollution
commonly shaped like an icosahedron.
Herbicide Example: Adenovirus
damage c. Spherical Virus- Icosahedral shape made up
of equilateral triangles.
B. TYPES OF PATHOGEN Example: Tomato bushy stunt virus (TBSV),
1. Virus rice tungro spherical virus (RTSV), Influenza
• ultramicroscopic virus, Covid virus,
• obligately parasite d. Complex Virus- These virus structures have a
• enclosed by protein coat called capsid combination of icosahedral and helical shape
and may have a complex outer wall or head-
• infect all types of organisms.
 tail morphology. The head-tail morphology green leaves
that are
structure is unique to viruses that only infect shorter and
bacteria and are known as bacteriophages. narrower
than normal,
Example: cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) and • rusty spots
cowpea mosaic virus (CPMV), or patches
on leaves,
Disease Cause by Virus • leaves have
a mottled
appearance
Disease Hosts Symptoms and Additional
and
Signs Feature
• plants that
a. Mosaic Tobacco, • irregular leaf • spread by fail to
cucurbits, mottling, aphids and produce
tomato, • Leaves other insects, panicles
banana, stunted, mites, fungi,
cassava curled, or nematodes,
puckered. • pollen and 2. Viroid
• veins lighter seeds can
than normal carry the • single-stranded RNA
or banded
with dark
infection as
well.
• smallest infectious pathogens.
green or • spread mechanical means
yellow.
• dwarfed, with
Example: cadang-cadang, citrus
fruit and exocortis, potato spindle tuber
flowers fewer
than usual, Why viroid are smaller than virus?
deformed.
• leaves • aphid,
b.Abaca
Bunchy
Abaca
Banana dwarfed Pentalonia
• Viroids infect only plants whereas virus
Top Virus • upright and nigronervosa infects all types of organisms.
bunched at
the top of
is the vector.
• Infected plants
• In viroids, protein coat is absent
the plant, cannot recover whereas in viruses a protein covering
• wavy and • also spread or a coat called as capsid is present
chlorotic through
margins that infected around the genetic material.
tend to turn planting
necrotic, material. How are viroid like viruses
• leaf become
dark green
streaks on
• They both replicate in a cell, and they
the lower both contain nucleic acid.
portion of
midrib • are plant pathogens that (a few
c. Tungro Rice • Stunting • rice tungro hundred nucleobases) of highly
• delayed bacilliform
complement consist of a short stretch
flowering (RTBV) and
which may spherical tray, circular, single-stranded RNA
delay (RTSV)
viruses.
without the protein coat that is typical
maturity,
• reduced • detected for viruses.
number of from infected
tillers rice leaves in Types of viroid
• small and ELISA
not • less
completely efficiently by
a. Pospiviroidae- rod-like structure with a
exserted latex test. small single-stranded region. have a
panicles, central conserved region and replicate
• dark brown
blotches. in the nucleus.
d. Grassy Rice • stunted • symptoms
Stunt plants, develop Example: Potato spindle tuber viroid,
• excessive 10−12 days
tillering, after HSVd, hop stunt viroid; CCCVd,
• very upright infection coconut cadang-cadang viroid;
plant growth • It cannot be
ASSVd, apple scar skin viroid, and
• grassy and transmitted
rosette via brown CbVd-1, Coleus blumei viroid.
appearance plant hopper
• yellowish eggs.
 b. Avsunviroidae- has rod-like branched 3. Bacteria
regions, viroid RNA is imported into • unicellular microorganisms that produce
the chloroplast, and complementary asexually by binary fission.
concatemeric RNAs are produced by • Gram negative.
chloroplast-dependent RNA • Enter plants through natural openings and
polymerase. wounds.
Types of Transmission in Viroid • Cannot penetrate intact plant surface
• single, couples, chains (streptococcus),
a. Vertical transmission- transmitted clusters (staphylococcus).
through both viroid-infected ovule and • It is single-celled microorganisms, generally
pollen. (Ex. Potato spindle tuber) ranging from 1-2 µm in size that cannot be
seen with the unaided eye.
b. Horizontal transmission- is the • It is rod-shaped, round-ended, Gram-
transmission of organisms between negative species.
biotic and/or abiotic members of an • It is microscopic prokaryotic (a cell in which
ecosystem that are not in a parent- the nuclear material .
progeny relationship. (Ex. Tomato • It formed an "ooze" that readily seen in
planta macho viroid) droplets. These droplets are a sign of the
pathogen, being composed mostly of
Disease caused by Viroid bacterial cells.

Disease Hosts Symptoms Additional Feature

and Signs
Types of Homologous recombination in
bacteria
a. Potato Potato • severe • Infected tubers
spindle growth may be small, a. Transformation- It is the uptake of
tuber reduction elongated exogenous DNA from the surrounding
• chlorosis
in the top • misshapen and environment.
of the cracked. b. Transduction- the virus-mediated
plant,
• Vines of
transfer or move from one bacterial cell
infected to another.
plants may
be smaller
c. Conjugation- It is the transfer of DNA
• produce from one bacterium to another via cell-
smaller to-cell contact.
leaves
than their
healthy Types of Flagella
counterpar
ts a. Atrichous- Flagella absent (Example:
b.Cadang- Coconut • Fruit - • Chlorotic Lactobacillus, Pasteurella)
Cadang abnormal • non-necrotic
shape • more nuts
b. Monotrichous- bacteria have a single
Inflorescen rounded and flagellum. (Example Vibrio cholerae)
ce - blight; scarified
necrosis, • inflorescence
c. Lophotrichous- have multiple flagella
twisting stunted with located at the same spot on the
and necrotic tips, bacteria's surfaces which act in concert
distortion • loss of some
• Leaves - male florets. to drive the bacteria in a single direction.
abnormal
colours
d. Amphitrichous- have a single flagellum
• Leaves - on each of two opposite ends.
abnormal e. Amphilophotrichous- Segmented
forms
• Whole filamentous bacterium.
plant - f. Peritrichous- possess multiple flagella
dwarfing
that can grow from essentially any point
on the cell body surface.
Genera of Plant Pathogenic Bacteria and contain irreg. staining segments and
granules
a. Pseudomonas- gram negatives, non spore
forming, with or without flagella and
Example:
produce fluorescin (yellowish pigment),
Corynebacterium micheganese- bacterial
causes parenchymatous diseases
canker of tomato.
Example: Pseudomonas solanacearum Disease caused by Bacteria
(now Ralstonia solanacearum) causes
Disease Causative Hosts Symptoms and
bacterial wilt or brown rot of solanaceous Agent Signs
and other plants. a. Pink Acetobact Pineapple • infected tissues
disease of er aceti/ will show a
pineapple Gluconob moderate
b. Xanthomonas- gram negative non spore acter translucent
forming, monotrichous, produces yellow oxydans appearance
(water soaking)
pigment which is insoluble in water, It but no soft-rotting
causes tissue necrosis symptoms.
• The infected
tissues become
Example: colored upon
• Xanthomonas citri- citrus canker canning.

• X. albilineans- leaf scald of sugarcane

• X. oryzae- bacterial leaf blight of rice b. Crown Agrobacte Rose • Crown gall
Gall in rium
• X. oryzicola- bacterial leaf streak of Roses tumefacie
symptoms include
round, wart-like
rice ns growths — 2
inches or larger in
c. Erwinia - gram negative, non spore diameter — that
forming, with peritrichous flagella, It appear at or just
above the soil
causes vascular parenchymal diseases. line, or on lower
branches and
stems.
Example • Plants with
• Erwinia chrysanthemi- bacterial stalk several galls may
be unable to
rot of corn move water and
• E. Amylovora- fireblight of apples and nutrients up the
trunk and become
pears weakened,
• E. corotovora (now Pectobacterium stunted and
unproductive.
carotovorum )bacterial soft rot of • Young plants can
vegetables be killed by
• E. stewartii - bacterial wilt of corn developing gall
tissue.
c. Ratoon Clavibact Sugarcane • Orange colored
Stunting er xyli dots of bacteria,
d. Agrobacterium- gram negative, non spore Disease resembling
forming, short bacteria with 1-4peritrichous in pinheads are
Sugarcan present on the
flagella. It occurs in soil, plant roots or e internal soft tissue
stems, It cause hypertrophy and in the nodal
hyperplasia region, the
disease is
characterized by
Example stunted growth,
thin stalks with
• Agrobacterium tumefaciens- crown gall short internodes,
of plants pale yellowish
foliage and rapid
e. Corynebacterium- gram positive, non- tapering of the
spore forming rods, often flagellate in plant stem towards the
top.
pathogenic forms. It stimulates d. Stalk Enterobac Corn • Discoloration of
hyperplasia, show club- shaped swellings rot in corn ter leaves, leaf
dissolven sheath and the
 s/ nodes of the consist of wilting
cloacae stalk, Develops of the youngest
rapidly along the leaves at the
stalk and spreads ends of the
up to other branches during
leaves. the hottest part of
• A foul odor can the day
be detected and i. Leaf Xanthomo Rice • Appear on the
the top of the Blight of nas leaves of young
plant easily Rice oryzae plants as pale-
removed from the green to grey-
rest of the plants green, water-
soaked streaks
e. Erwinia Vegetables • The first near the leaf tip
Bacterial tracheiphil symptoms of wilt and margins.
Wilt in a/ are a slight • Systemic
Cucurbits Pantoea yellowing and infection results
stewartii wilting of the lower in wilting,
leaves. The wilt desiccation of
progresses leaves and
upward, affecting death,
the younger particularly of
leaves, followed young
by a complete transplanted
yellowing and plants.
browning of the j. Black Xanthomo Cabbage • Black rot is a
entire shoot. rot of nas systemic
bacterial Cabbage campestri vascular disease.
streaming and s • Typical disease
bacterial ooze symptoms
from infected include V-shaped
tissues, especially yellow lesions
from infected starting from the
rhizomes. leaf margins and
f. Potato Pectobact Potato • Black blackening of the
Black Leg erium discoloration of veins.
carotovor previously
um healthy stems,
accompanied by
a rapid wilting, 4. Mycoplasma
and sometimes • Microorganisms lacking cell Walls which
yellowing, of the
leaves. Starting cause phyllody and witches' broom as well
below ground, as yellows diseases in various crop plants
black
discoloration in Asia.
moves up the • the smallest and simplest self-replicating
stem, often until
the entire stem is bacteria.
black and wilted. • Its cells contain minimum set of organelles
g. Halo Pseudom Beans • First appear as
Blight of onas small, angular, that essential for growth and replication: a
Beans avastoni/ water-soaked plasma membrane, ribosomes, and a
Pseudom spots (almost
onas resembling little genome consisting of a double-stranded
syringae pin pricks) on the circular DNA molecule.
undersurfaces of
leaves.
• As these spots
Types of Mycoplasma
grow and turn
brown, a a. Phytoplasma- previously called MLOs
characteristic (Micoplasma like organisms). It is
light green to
yellow halo diseases of vegetable crops are
appears around characterized by symptoms such as little
the spots.
h. Ralstonia Vegetables • At the early leaves, phyllody, flower virescence, big
Bacterial solanacea stages of buds, and witches' brooms.
Wilt rum diseases, the first
visible symptoms b. Spiroplasma- a group of small bacteria
usually appear without cell walls. Spiroplasma shares the
on foliage of
plants. simple metabolism, parasitic lifestyle,
• These symptoms
 fried-egg colony morphology and small b. Spores- is a specialized propagative body
genome of other Mollicute. which may be formed asexually or sexually
through fusion of unlike cells or gametes.
Diseased cause by Mycoplasma
c. Fruiting bodies- contain spores, which are
a. Witches Broom (Ash yellows- It is a
dispersed for reproduction.
mycoplasma disease that is a component
of the complex disease called ash decline. Disease caused by Fungus
Eriophyid mites, mistletoe, environmental
Disease Causative Hosts Symptoms and
damage, or a mutation in vegetative cells Agent Signs
may also cause witches' brooming. a. Late Phytophthora Potato • water-soaked
b. Infectious Phyllody- Abnormal development blight of infestans dark green to
potato black or purplish
of floral parts into leafy structures. It is lesions with pale
generally caused by phytoplasma, though it green margins on
lower leaves,
may also be because of environmental white mildew at
factors that result in an imbalance in plant edge of lesions
hormones. Leafhoppers can spread various
mycoplasmas throughout a planting during
feeding. Aster yellows and green petal
MLO are two mycoplasma-induced
diseases that also cause phyllody. b. Dutch Ceratocystis Elm tree • Leaves wilt, turn
c. Yellows- When the chlorophyll disappears elm ulmi dull green to
disease yellow or brown,
completely from the host tissue, the organs and drop off;
turn yellow and the symptoms are known branches die.
c. Black Puccinia Wheat; • rust-coloured
as yellows. These are characteristic stem rust graminis many pustules with
symptoms of mycoplasma plant diseases. of wheat grasses spores, chlorosis
of surrounding
d. Big bud- The fruit bearing shoots become tissue, followed
straight, thickened and malformed into thick by development
of black
dark green structures, e.g., big bud of teliospores; on
tomato caused by mycoplasma. barberry,
chlorosis and
e. Citrus stubborn disease- It infects the hypertrophy of
phloem of the affected plant, causing fruit infected tissue,
orange spore
deformities. It cause by spiroplasma. masses
d. Coffee Hemileia Coffee • orange-yellow
5. Fungi rust vastatrix powdery spots on
lower side of
• Non Chlorophyll bearing microorganisms leaves; centres
with branched filamentous vegetative turn brown and
leaves fall
structures called MYCELIUM. e. White- Cronartium White • small,
• Possess true nuclei and cell walls pine ribicola pine tree discoloured,
blister rust spindle-shaped
• Some are not filamentous such as the cankers
thallus of synchytrium and saccharomyces surrounded by
narrow band of
spp. which are unicellular yellow-orange
• Mycelium may be septate (have cross bark; blisters
exude secretion
walls) or coenocytic (continuous) followed by bright
orange pustules.
Signs of Fungal Diseases f. Corn Ustilago Corn • minute galls form
smut maydis on young corn
seedlings; on
a. Mycelia- the mass of branched, tubular older plants,
filaments (hyphae) of fungi. large galls are
produced on the
silk of ears and
on tassels,
leaves, and
 stalks mycelium and
g. Loose Ustilago nuda barley, • Infected heads black spores
smut oats, are covered with p. Fusarium Tomatoes • Leaves are bent
wheat masses of olive- Fusarium oxysporum down, growth is
green spores wilt of stunted, plant
tomato dies; dark streaks
h. Downy many species many • yellow irregular
mildew of the family types of spots appear on appear in
Peronospora plants: upper leaf vascular tissue
ceae grapes, surface; downy q. Wilts of Verticillium Cotton, • Similar to
grasses, fungus growth vegetable species potato, fusarium wilts;
vegetable appears on s, flowers, tomato, develops
s, and underside; leaves and some alfalfa, primarily in
others die trees shade seedlings that die
trees, and shortly after
i. many species many • spots of powdery
Powdery of the family types of others infection; older
mildew growth
mildew Erysiphaceae plants: that enlarge to plants also are
grasses, cover leaves or attacked
vegetable other plant
s, shrubs, organs.
and trees 6. Nematodes
j. Apple Venturia Apple • small olive-
Scab inaequalis coloured areas • are multicellular animals in the group
appear on young Ecdysozoa, or animals that can shed their
leaves, later turn
black, and may cuticle.
coalesce; black • Nematodes feed on all parts of the plant,
circular spots
appear on fruit including roots, stems, leaves, flowers and
k. Black Diplocarpon Rose • large circular seeds. Nematodes feed from plants in a
spot of rosae black lesions on
rose leaves; leaves variety of ways, but all use a specialized
turn yellow and spear called a stylet.
fall off
l. Elsinae Grape • most visible on • readily spread by any physical means that
Anthracno ampelina leaves and ripe can move soil particles about—equipment,
se of fruits. At first,
grape anthracnose tools, shoes, birds, insects, dust, wind and
generally water.
appears on
leaves as small Types of Esophagus in Nematodes
and irregular
yellow, brown,
dark-brown, or A- one –part cylindrical, Mononchoid
black spots. The (Mononchus),
spots can expand
and merge to
cover the whole B- two part cylindrical,
affected area. Dorylaimoid(Dorylaimus)
m. Nectria Nectria apple and • initially small
canker galligena pear and circular brown C- two part cylindrical Bulboid (Ethnolaimus)
many areas that
hardwood enlarge and
forest become D- Three part cylindrical, Rhabditoid
trees depressed with (Rhabbditis)
raised edges;
callus tissue
produced around
E- three part cylindrical, Diplogateroid
canker (Diplogaster)
n. Brown Monilinia Stone • brown spots on
rot fructicola fruits blossoms; twigs F- three part cylindrical, Tylenchoid
develop small
sunken brown (Tylenchorhynchus)
cankers; fruit
develops brown G- tree part cylindrical Neotylenchoid
spots that spread
rapidly
(Neotylenchus)
o. Soft rot Rhizopus flowers, • tissues become
species fruits, and soft with water- H- three-part cylindrical, Aphelenchoid,
vegetable soaked (Aphelenchus),
s with appearance that
fleshy often spreads
organs rapidly, followed I- three-part cylindrical, Criconematoid
by development (Criconemoides)
of fuzzy gray
J- Tylenchoid ventral overlap (Rotylenchus)
Groups of nematodes according to feeding position
a. Ectoparasites- do not enter roots.

• Belonolaimus-sting nematodes
• Paratylenchus-pin nematodes
• Xipheneme- dagger nematodes
• Longidorus- needle nematodes
b. Migratory endoparasites- migrates within the host
and or between soil and host.

• Pratylenchus-lesion nematodes
• Radophulus similis- burrowing nematodes,
citrus lesion
• Hoplolaimus- lance nematodes
• Helicotylenchus- spiral nematodes
• Ditylenchus-stem and bulb nematodes
• Aphelenchoides- folliar nematodes
c. Sedentary endoparasites- burrow into the roots.

• Meloidogyne- root knot nematodes

• Heterodera- cyst nematodes
• Rotylenchus reniformis-reniform nematodes
• Tylenchulus semipenetrans-citrus nematodes

Prepared by:

DARWIN M. CACAL, R.A, MSc

Expert Coach, Crop Science