Integrated control of Fusarium wilt of lettuce in relation to pathogen and microbial community dynamics

背景生菜枯萎病是由土传尖孢镰刀菌引起的一种蔬菜枯萎病。乳香(FOL)是全球保护性和大田种植作物生产的主要制约因素。抗病生菜品种已经被培育出来，以减少由于FOL造成的损失，但新的病原菌小种已经进化来克服这种抗性。最重要的小种是在大田生菜中广泛存在的FOL小种1和FOL小种4，它是最近才出现的，特别影响北欧受保护的生菜。目前正在开发对这两个小种的双重抗性，但迫切需要其他管理FOL的方法以及对其生物学和动态的了解，以便能够在不断变化的气候中对新爆发做出快速反应。该项目是G‘s、华威大学和NIAB Cambridge之间的一次独特的合作。目标和方法本博士学位的主要目标是为生菜FOL1和FOL4开发可持续的综合疾病管理方法，重点是西班牙的田间生产。目标是：i)使用分子方法确定西班牙生菜FOL分离物的特征，以确定种族特征和潜在的遗传变异；ii)日光照射、生物防治和使用抗病/耐病生菜品种作为综合控制策略的潜在组成部分；iii)开发和实施不同的下一代测序方法，用于微生物群落分析，重点是监测FOL和有益微生物的动态。

Background Fusarium wilt disease of lettuce, caused by the soilborne fungal pathogen Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. lactucae (FOL), is a major constraint to production of protected and field-grown crops globally. Disease resistant lettuce cultivars have been bred to reduce losses due to FOL, but new pathogen races have evolved to overcome this resistance. The most important races are FOL race 1 which is widespread in field lettuce and FOL race 4 which has emerged only very recently to particularly affect protected lettuce in N. Europe. Dual resistance to both races is now being developed, but other approaches for management of FOL as well as an understanding of its biology and dynamics are urgently required to enable a swift response to new outbreaks in a changing climate. The project is a unique collaboration between G's, the University of Warwick and NIAB Cambridge.Objectives and approaches The main aim of this PhD is to develop sustainable integrated disease management approaches for both FOL1 and FOL4 in lettuce with a focus on field production in Spain. The objectives are: i) characterisation of FOL isolates from Spanish lettuce using molecular approaches to establish race identity and potential genetic variation, ii) evaluation of solarisation, biological control and the use of disease resistant / tolerant lettuce varieties as potential components of an integrated control strategy iii) development and implementation of different next generation sequencing approaches for microbial community analyses with a focus on monitoring the dynamics of FOL and beneficial microbes.