Bhunjun Chitrabhanu S, Phillips Alan J L, Jayawardena Ruvishika S, Promputtha Itthayakorn, Hyde Kevin D
Innovative Institute for Plant Health, Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering, Guangzhou 510225, China.
Center of Excellence in Fungal Research, Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai 57100, Thailand.
Pathogens. 2021 Aug 28;10(9):1096. doi: 10.3390/pathogens10091096.
Fungi are an essential component of any ecosystem, but they can also cause mild and severe plant diseases. Plant diseases are caused by a wide array of fungal groups that affect a diverse range of hosts with different tissue specificities. Fungi were previously named based only on morphology and, in many cases, host association, which has led to superfluous species names and synonyms. Morphology-based identification represents an important method for genus level identification and molecular data are important to accurately identify species. Accurate identification of fungal pathogens is vital as the scientific name links the knowledge concerning a species including the biology, host range, distribution, and potential risk of the pathogen, which are vital for effective control measures. Thus, in the modern era, a polyphasic approach is recommended when identifying fungal pathogens. It is also important to determine if the organism is capable of causing host damage, which usually relies on the application of Koch's postulates for fungal plant pathogens. The importance and the challenges of applying Koch's postulates are discussed. Bradford Hill criteria, which are generally used in establishing the cause of human disease, are briefly introduced. We provide guidelines for pathogenicity testing based on the implementation of modified Koch's postulates incorporating biological gradient, consistency, and plausibility criteria from Bradford Hill. We provide a set of protocols for fungal pathogenicity testing along with a severity score guide, which takes into consideration the depth of lesions. The application of a standard protocol for fungal pathogenicity testing and disease assessment in plants will enable inter-studies comparison, thus improving accuracy. When introducing novel plant pathogenic fungal species without proving the taxon is the causal agent using Koch's postulates, we advise the use of the term "" "". Where possible, details of disease symptoms should be clearly articulated.
真菌是任何生态系统的重要组成部分，但它们也会引发轻度和重度的植物病害。植物病害由各种各样的真菌类群引起，这些真菌类群会影响具有不同组织特异性的多种寄主。真菌以前仅根据形态学以及在许多情况下根据与寄主的关联来命名，这导致了物种名称多余和同义词的出现。基于形态学的鉴定是属级鉴定的重要方法，而分子数据对于准确鉴定物种很重要。准确鉴定真菌病原体至关重要，因为科学名称关联了有关一个物种的知识，包括病原体的生物学特性、寄主范围、分布和潜在风险，这些对于有效的控制措施至关重要。因此，在现代，鉴定真菌病原体时建议采用多相方法。确定该生物体是否能够造成寄主损害也很重要，这通常依赖于对真菌植物病原体应用科赫法则。讨论了应用科赫法则的重要性和挑战。简要介绍了通常用于确定人类疾病病因的布拉德福德·希尔标准。我们基于纳入了布拉德福德·希尔的生物学梯度、一致性和合理性标准的改良科赫法则的实施，提供了致病性测试指南。我们提供了一套真菌致病性测试方案以及一个严重程度评分指南，该指南考虑了病斑的深度。在植物中应用标准的真菌致病性测试和病害评估方案将能够进行研究间的比较，从而提高准确性。在引入新的植物病原真菌物种而未使用科赫法则证明该分类群是致病因子时，我们建议使用“ ”一词。在可能的情况下，应清晰阐述病害症状的细节。
