A Trade-Off Between Sporangia Size and Number Exists in the Potato Late Blight Pathogen , and Is Not Altered by Biotic and Abiotic Factors.

The negative relationship between offspring size and number is a classic example of trade-off between life-history traits, reported many times in animal and plant species. Here, we wanted to ascertain whether such a trade-off occurred in the oomycete , and whether it was impacted by biotic and abiotic factors. We thus conducted three infection experiments under controlled conditions and measured the number and the size of sporangia (asexual propagules) produced on potato by different isolates.

Potential Host Manipulation by the Aphid Parasitoid Aphidius avenae to Enhance Cold Tolerance.

During parasitoid development, the immature parasitoid is confined to the host species. As a result, any potential to modify the physiology or behaviour of the host could play an important role in parasitoid fitness. The potential for host manipulation by the aphid parasitoid Aphidius avenae to increase cold thermotolerance was investigated using the aphid host species Metopolophium dirhodum and Sitobion avenae.

Local adaptation to temperature in populations and clonal lineages of the Irish potato famine pathogen Phytophthora infestans.

Environmental factors such as temperature strongly impact microbial communities. In the current context of global warming, it is therefore crucial to understand the effects of these factors on human, animal, or plant pathogens. Here, we used a common-garden experiment to analyze the thermal responses of three life-history traits (latent period, lesion growth, spore number) in isolates of the potato late blight pathogen Phytophthora infestans from different climatic zones.