A novel method for efficient and abundant production of Phytophthora brassicae zoospores on Brussels sprout leaf discs

摘要

BackgroundPhytophthora species are notorious oomycete pathogens that cause diseases on a wide range of plants. Our understanding how these pathogens are able to infect their host plants will benefit greatly from information obtained from model systems representative for plant-Phytophthora interactions. One attractive model system is the interaction between Arabidopsis and Phytophthora brassicae. Under laboratory conditions, Arabidopsis can be easily infected with mycelial plugs as inoculum. In the disease cycle, however, sporangia or zoospores are the infectious propagules. Since the current P. brassicae zoospore isolation methods are generally regarded as inefficient, we aimed at developing an alternative method for obtaining high concentrations of P. brassicae zoospores.