Dataset Information

Vortex-induced dispersal of a plant pathogen by raindrop impact.

ABSTRACT: Raindrop impact on infected plants can disperse micron-sized propagules of plant pathogens (e.g., spores of fungi). Little is known about the mechanism of how plant pathogens are liberated and transported due to raindrop impact. We used high-speed photography to observe thousands of dry-dispersed spores of the rust fungus Puccinia triticina being liberated from infected wheat plants following the impact of a single raindrop. We revealed that an air vortex ring was formed during the raindrop impact and carried the dry-dispersed spores away from the surface of the host plant. The maximum height and travel distance of the airborne spores increased with the aid of the air vortex. This unique mechanism of vortex-induced dispersal dynamics was characterized to predict trajectories of spores. Finally, we found that the spores transported by the air vortex can reach beyond the laminar boundary layer of leaves, which would enable the long-distance transport of plant pathogens through the atmosphere.

SUBMITTER: Kim S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6421443 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Vortex-induced dispersal of a plant pathogen by raindrop impact.

Kim Seungho S Park Hyunggon H Gruszewski Hope A HA Schmale David G DG Jung Sunghwan S

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20190225 11

Raindrop impact on infected plants can disperse micron-sized propagules of plant pathogens (e.g., spores of fungi). Little is known about the mechanism of how plant pathogens are liberated and transported due to raindrop impact. We used high-speed photography to observe thousands of dry-dispersed spores of the rust fungus <i>Puccinia triticina</i> being liberated from infected wheat plants following the impact of a single raindrop. We revealed that an air vortex ring was formed during the raindr ...[more]

PMID: 30804195

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Project description:AimUnderstanding how spatial scale of study affects observed dispersal patterns can provide insights into spatiotemporal population dynamics, particularly in systems with significant long-distance dispersal (LDD). We aimed to investigate the dispersal gradients of two rusts of wheat with spores of similar size, mass, and shape, over multiple spatial scales. We hypothesized that a single dispersal kernel could fit the dispersal from all spatial scales well, and that it would be possible to obtain similar results in spatiotemporal increase of disease when modeling based on differing scales.LocationCentral Oregon and St. Croix Island.TaxaPuccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici, Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici, Triticum aestivum.MethodsWe compared empirically-derived primary disease gradients of cereal rust across three spatial scales: local (inoculum source and sampling unit = 0.0254 m, spatial extent = 1.52m) field-wide (inoculum source = 1.52 m, sampling unit = 0.305 m, and spatial extent = 91.44 m), and regional (inoculum source and sampling unit = 152 m, spatial extent = 10.7 km). We then examined whether disease spread in spatially explicit simulations depended upon the scale at which data were collected by constructing a compartmental time-step model.ResultsThe three data sets could be fit well by a single inverse-power law dispersal kernel. Simulating epidemic spread at different spatial resolutions resulted in similar patterns of spatiotemporal spread. Dispersal kernel data obtained at one spatial scale can be used to represent spatiotemporal disease spread at a larger spatial scale.Main conclusionsOrganisms spread by aerially dispersed small propagules that exhibit LDD may follow similar dispersal patterns over a several hundred- or thousand-fold expanse of spatial scale. Given that the primary mechanisms driving aerial dispersal remain constant, it may be possible to extrapolate across scales when empirical data are unavailable at a scale of interest.

Dataset Information

Vortex-induced dispersal of a plant pathogen by raindrop impact.

Publications

Vortex-induced dispersal of a plant pathogen by raindrop impact.

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