Initial Analysis of Plant Soil for Evidence of Pathogens Associated with a Disease of Seedling <i>Ocotea monteverdensis</i>
Seedlings of the ecologically important, critically endangered tree <i>Ocotea monteverdensisis</i> experience high mortality in the Monteverde, Costa Rica, cloud forests at the onset of the wet season, yet there are no studies suggesting the disease etiology. Here, healthy and diseased p...
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MDPI AG
2025-07-01
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| author | William D. Eaton Debra A. Hamilton Alexander Lemenze Patricia Soteropoulos |
| author_facet | William D. Eaton Debra A. Hamilton Alexander Lemenze Patricia Soteropoulos |
| author_sort | William D. Eaton |
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| description | Seedlings of the ecologically important, critically endangered tree <i>Ocotea monteverdensisis</i> experience high mortality in the Monteverde, Costa Rica, cloud forests at the onset of the wet season, yet there are no studies suggesting the disease etiology. Here, healthy and diseased plant root and bulk soils were analyzed for various carbon and nitrogen (N) metrics and respiration levels, and DNA sequence-based bacterial and fungal community compositions. All nitrogen metric levels were greater in diseased vs. healthy plant root soils, which could enhance pathogen growth and pathogenic mechanisms. Greater DNA percentages from several potential pathogens were found in diseased vs. healthy plant root soils, suggesting this disease may be associated with a root pathogen. The DNA of the fungus <i>Mycosphaerella</i> was at greater levels in diseased vs. healthy plant root soils than other potential pathogens. <i>Mycosphaerella</i> causes similar diseases in other plants, including coffee, after onset of the wet season. The <i>O. monteverdensis</i> disease also occurs in seedlings planted within or near former coffee plantations at wet season onset. Distance-based linear model analyses indicated that NO<sub>3</sub><sup>−</sup> levels best predicted the pattern of fungal pathogens in the soils, and <i>Mycosphaerella</i> and <i>Tremella</i> best predicted the patterns of the different N metrics in the soils, supporting their possible roles in this disease. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | DOAJ |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-97f8d3df8a31493e88c24fb6b3a6119b2025-08-20T03:07:58ZengMDPI AGMicroorganisms2076-26072025-07-01137168210.3390/microorganisms13071682Initial Analysis of Plant Soil for Evidence of Pathogens Associated with a Disease of Seedling <i>Ocotea monteverdensis</i>William D. Eaton0Debra A. Hamilton1Alexander Lemenze2Patricia Soteropoulos3Biology Department, Dyson College, Pace University, New York, NY 10038, USAVermont Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Rubenstein School of the Environment and Natural Resources, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405, USAMolecular and Genomics Informatics Core (MaGIC), Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, 205 South Orange Avenue, Newark, NJ 07103, USAGenomics Center, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, The State University of New Jersey, 185 South Orange Ave, MSB F653, Newark, NJ 07103, USASeedlings of the ecologically important, critically endangered tree <i>Ocotea monteverdensisis</i> experience high mortality in the Monteverde, Costa Rica, cloud forests at the onset of the wet season, yet there are no studies suggesting the disease etiology. Here, healthy and diseased plant root and bulk soils were analyzed for various carbon and nitrogen (N) metrics and respiration levels, and DNA sequence-based bacterial and fungal community compositions. All nitrogen metric levels were greater in diseased vs. healthy plant root soils, which could enhance pathogen growth and pathogenic mechanisms. Greater DNA percentages from several potential pathogens were found in diseased vs. healthy plant root soils, suggesting this disease may be associated with a root pathogen. The DNA of the fungus <i>Mycosphaerella</i> was at greater levels in diseased vs. healthy plant root soils than other potential pathogens. <i>Mycosphaerella</i> causes similar diseases in other plants, including coffee, after onset of the wet season. The <i>O. monteverdensis</i> disease also occurs in seedlings planted within or near former coffee plantations at wet season onset. Distance-based linear model analyses indicated that NO<sub>3</sub><sup>−</sup> levels best predicted the pattern of fungal pathogens in the soils, and <i>Mycosphaerella</i> and <i>Tremella</i> best predicted the patterns of the different N metrics in the soils, supporting their possible roles in this disease.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/13/7/1682tropical seedling diseasefungal plant pathogens<i>Mycosphaerella</i> disease |
| spellingShingle | William D. Eaton Debra A. Hamilton Alexander Lemenze Patricia Soteropoulos Initial Analysis of Plant Soil for Evidence of Pathogens Associated with a Disease of Seedling <i>Ocotea monteverdensis</i> Microorganisms tropical seedling disease fungal plant pathogens <i>Mycosphaerella</i> disease |
| title | Initial Analysis of Plant Soil for Evidence of Pathogens Associated with a Disease of Seedling <i>Ocotea monteverdensis</i> |
| title_full | Initial Analysis of Plant Soil for Evidence of Pathogens Associated with a Disease of Seedling <i>Ocotea monteverdensis</i> |
| title_fullStr | Initial Analysis of Plant Soil for Evidence of Pathogens Associated with a Disease of Seedling <i>Ocotea monteverdensis</i> |
| title_full_unstemmed | Initial Analysis of Plant Soil for Evidence of Pathogens Associated with a Disease of Seedling <i>Ocotea monteverdensis</i> |
| title_short | Initial Analysis of Plant Soil for Evidence of Pathogens Associated with a Disease of Seedling <i>Ocotea monteverdensis</i> |
| title_sort | initial analysis of plant soil for evidence of pathogens associated with a disease of seedling i ocotea monteverdensis i |
| topic | tropical seedling disease fungal plant pathogens <i>Mycosphaerella</i> disease |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/13/7/1682 |
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