Role of salinity in the susceptibility of eelgrass Zostera marina to the wasting disease pathogen Labyrinthula zosterae

McKone, Katie L.; Tanner, Christopher E.

doi:10.3354/meps07860

Cited by 41 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…becomes inactive below 10 PSU (Young 1943, Muehlstein et al 1988, Martin et al 2009). Additionally, laboratory experiments have found a correlation between salinity and lesion coverage (Burdick et al 1993), and a positive linear relationship between salinity and L. zosterae lesion area (McKone & Tanner 2009), further supporting the hypothesis that low salinity is a limiting factor for L. zosterae infection. A yearlong field survey showed that wasting disease increased during increasing salinity events in a Z. marina meadow in Great Bay, New Hampshire, USA, and that prolonged disease was sustained during salinities above 20 PSU (Burdick et al 1993).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 67%

“…This suggests that the production of inhibitory compounds is not induced by a high pathogen pressure, as previously suggested (Buchsbaum et al 1990, Vergeer et al 1995, but rather that Z. marina contains inhibitory compounds that function as a constitutive defense. In contrast, the most studied potential defense compounds against L. zosterae infection so far, the phenolic acids, have been shown to increase in infected seagrass shoots, and to correlate with lesion size in laboratory infection experiments (McKone & Tanner 2009). In addition, trans-cinnamate 4-monooxygenase, an enzyme for phenol synthesis, is upregulated in L. zosteraeinoculated shoots (Brakel et al 2014).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Chemical defenses against L. zosterae are, however, still poorly understood, and no specific defense compound against the pathogen has been identified. Phenolic acids have been shown to correlate with lesion occurrence (Vergeer & Develi 1997), and to increase in response to L. zosterae infection (McKone & Tanner 2009). Trevathan-Tackett et al (2015) also found that phenolic acids can inhibit growth of pathogenic Labyrinthula sp.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Seagrass wasting disease varies with salinity and depth in natural Zostera marina populations

Jakobsson-Thor¹,

Toth²,

Brakel³

et al. 2018

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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In the 1930s, the wasting disease pathogen Labyrinthula zosterae is believed to have killed 90% of the temperate seagrass Zostera marina in the Atlantic Ocean. Despite the devastating impact of this disease, the host−pathogen interaction is still poorly understood, and few field studies have investigated factors correlating with the prevalence and abundance of L. zosterae. The present study measured wasting disease in natural populations of Z. marina on the Swedish west coast, and showed a strong correlation between the disease and both salinity and water depth. No infection was detected in Z. marina shoots from low-salinity (13−25 PSU) meadows, whereas most shoots carried the disease in high-salinity (25−29 PSU) meadows. Shallow (1 m) living Z. marina shoots were also more infected compared to shoots in deeper (5 m) meadows. In addition, infection and transplantation experiments showed that Z. marina shoots from low-salinity meadows with low pathogen pressure were more susceptible to L. zosterae infection. The higher susceptibility could not be explained by lower content of inhibitory defense compounds in the shoots. Instead, extracts from all Z. marina shoots significantly reduced pathogen growth, suggesting that Z. marina contains inhibitory compounds that function as a constitutive defense. Overall, the results show that seagrass wasting disease is common in natural Z. marina populations in the study area and that it increases with salinity and decreases with depth. Our findings also suggest that low-salinity areas can act as a refuge against seagrass wasting disease.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 67%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Seagrass wasting disease varies with salinity and depth in natural Zostera marina populations

Jakobsson-Thor¹,

Toth²,

Brakel³

et al. 2018

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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“…seem to be very common in northern Z. marina beds [62]. This implies that L. zosterae may not be pathogenic under non-or low-stress conditions [60,63,64], possibly as a result of low pathogenicity, a strong defence reaction of the host, or both. Given our finding of additional putative pathogens in Z. marina beds, we may have to revisit the pathology of Z. marina, and perhaps also of seagrasses in general.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Marine Phytophthora species can hamper conservation and restoration of vegetated coastal ecosystems

Govers

Veld²,

Meffert³

et al. 2016

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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Phytophthora species are potent pathogens that can devastate terrestrial plants, causing billions of dollars of damage yearly to agricultural crops and harming fragile ecosystems worldwide. Yet, virtually nothing is known about the distribution and pathogenicity of their marine relatives. This is surprising, as marine plants form vital habitats in coastal zones worldwide (i.e. mangrove forests, salt marshes, seagrass beds), and disease may be an important bottleneck for the conservation and restoration of these rapidly declining ecosystems. We are the first to report on widespread infection of Phytophthora and Halophytophthora species on a common seagrass species, Zostera marina (eelgrass), across the northern Atlantic and Mediterranean. In addition, we tested the effects of Halophytophthora sp. Zostera and Phytophthora gemini on Z. marina seed germination in a full-factorial laboratory experiment under various environmental conditions. Results suggest that Phytophthora species are widespread as we found these oomycetes in eelgrass beds in six countries across the North Atlantic and Mediterranean. Infection by Halophytophthora sp . Zostera, P. gemini , or both, strongly affected sexual reproduction by reducing seed germination sixfold. Our findings have important implications for seagrass ecology, because these putative pathogens probably negatively affect ecosystem functioning, as well as current restoration and conservation efforts.

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“…In contrast, subtidal eelgrass populations in the Baltic remained relatively unaffected . One hypothesis is that brackish water protects against L. zosterae because it slows down growth and replication of the endophyte (McKone & Tanner 2009). However, the fact that the very saline Mediterranean as well as the Pacific coast of North America remained unaffected (Cotton 1933) contradicts this hypothesis.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Widespread occurrence of endophytic Labyrinthula spp. in northern European eelgrass Zostera marina beds

Bockelmann¹,

Beining²,

Reusch³

2012

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Seagrasses worldwide are commonly infected by endophytic protists of the genus Labyrinthula. To date, the nature of the interaction of endophyte and host is not well understood. In eelgrass Zostera marina, the endophyte Labyrinthula zosterae may become virulent (pathogenic) and lead to the loss of entire seagrass beds. One of the best known examples of any marine epidemic was a series of outbreaks of the 'wasting disease' on both sides of the Atlantic in the 1930s, but smaller infestations have been reported more recently. Until now, detection of infection by Labyrinthula spp. was based on the wasting index (i.e. the relative area of leaf lesions) or microscopy, while genetic data were virtually absent. We characterized a ~1400 bp portion of the 18S small subunit rDNA in L. zosterae isolates (N = 41) from 6 northern European sites and 1 southern location (Adriatic Sea) in order to assess the identity and potential diversity of endophytic protists. Because there are indications that low salinity impedes Labyrinthula growth, sampling sites included a wide range of salinities from 5 to 34 psu. A search against the non-redundant GenBank database revealed that most isolates are 99% similar to the only L. zosterae 18S sequence available from the database at all but the Finnish site (salinity values 5 to 7 psu). At this site, a different Labyrinthula species occurred, which was also found in fully marine Wadden Sea cultures. A third species was detected in Skagerrak, south-western Baltic and North Sea samples (20 to 25 psu). We conclude that L. zosterae is widespread among northern European eelgrass sites across wide ranges of salinity. KEY WORDS: Labyrinthula infection · Eelgrass · 18S sequence analysis · Salinity · Wasting diseaseResale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisher

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Role of salinity in the susceptibility of eelgrass Zostera marina to the wasting disease pathogen Labyrinthula zosterae

Cited by 41 publications

References 32 publications

Seagrass wasting disease varies with salinity and depth in natural Zostera marina populations

Seagrass wasting disease varies with salinity and depth in natural Zostera marina populations

Marine Phytophthora species can hamper conservation and restoration of vegetated coastal ecosystems

Widespread occurrence of endophytic Labyrinthula spp. in northern European eelgrass Zostera marina beds

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