It is one of the most widespread pathogens threatening the health of over 1400 species in the plant kingdom. The bioassay and fungal DNA quantification for Botrytis cinerea set the stage for in-depth molecular studies of immunity and resistance to a generalist necrotic pathogen in trees.īotrytis cinerea is the anamorph of Botryotinia fuckeliana and the causal agent of grey mold disease. We provide a simple and rapid protocol to study the effects of a necrotizing pathogen on poplar leaves. Methyl jasmonate pretreatment of poplar leaves decreased the spreading of the infection. Increases in necrotic area and fungal DNA were strictly correlated within the first four days after inoculation. cinerea DNA against Ct-values obtained by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and measured the amounts of fungal DNA in infected leaves. We adapted methods for image analyses of necrotic areas. Emerging necroses were phenotypically and anatomically examined in Populus x canescens leaves. We successfully tested the fungal plug infection on 18 poplar species from five different sections. The method does not require costly machinery and results in very high infection success and significant fungal proliferation within four days. We developed an infection system using fungal agar plugs, which are easy to handle. Resultsīotrytis cinerea was isolated from Populus x canescens leaves. To close this gap, we developed a reliable bioassay for the widespread necrotic pathogen Botrytis cinerea on poplars ( Populus sp.), which are established model organisms to study tree molecular biology. Necrotizing pathogens pose an immense economic and ecological threat to trees and forests, but the molecular analysis of these pathogens is still in its infancy because of lacking model systems.

Multislot save system for fungus