Australian Journal of Botany 56(4) 279310 http://dx.doi.org/10.

1071/BT07159
Submitted: 24 August 2007 Accepted: 3 March 2008 Published online: 16 June 2008
Abstract
Phytophthora cinnamomi continues to cause devastating disease in Australian native
vegetation and consequently the disease is listed by the Federal Government as a process that
is threatening Australias biodiversity. Although several advances have been made in our
understanding of how this soil-borne pathogen interacts with plants and of how we may
tackle it in natural systems, our ability to control the disease is limited. The pathogen occurs
widely across Australia but the severity of its impact is most evident within ecological
communities of the south-west and south-east of the country. A regional impact summary for
all states and territories shows the pathogen to be the cause of serious disease in numerous
species, a significant number of which are rare and threatened. Many genera of endemic taxa
have a high proportion of susceptible species including the iconic
genera Banksia,Epacris and Xanthorrhoea. Long-term studies in Victoria have shown limited
but probably unsustainable recovery of susceptible vegetation, given current management
practices. Management of the disease in conservation reserves is reliant on hygiene, the use
of chemicals and restriction of access, and has had only limited effectiveness and not
provided complete control. The deleterious impacts of the disease on faunal habitat are
reasonably well documented and demonstrate loss of individual animal species and changes
in population structure and species abundance. Few plant species are known to be resistant
to P. cinnamomi; however, investigations over several years have discovered the mechanisms
by which some plants are able to survive infection, including the activation of defence-related
genes and signalling pathways, the reinforcement of cell walls and accumulation of toxic
metabolites. Manipulation of resistance and resistance-related mechanisms may provide
avenues for protection against disease in otherwise susceptible species. Despite the advances
made inPhytophthora research in Australia during the past 40 years, there is still much to be
done to give land managers the resources to combat this disease. Recent State and Federal
initiatives offer the prospect of a growing and broader awareness of the disease and its
associated impacts. However, awareness must be translated into action as time is running out
for the large number of susceptible, and potentially susceptible, species within vulnerable
Australian ecological communities.
http://www.publish.csiro.au/?paper=BT07159





Received: 15 Jul 1964
Published online: 05 Jan 2012
Abstract
Nine New Zealand and eight overseas isolates of Phytophthora cinnamomi Rands have been
compared for vegetative growth and sporulation under a range of temperatures and pH
values. Pathogenicity of these isolates was checked on seven species of conifers.
Although variation existed amongst the 17 isolates tested, III no case was this sufficient to
warrant recognition of distinct strains of the fungus.
No evidence was obtained to suggest that P. cinnamomi III New Zealand has become adapted
to cooler climatic conditions. It was shown that sporulation does not occur at temperatures
which prevail in soil during the normally wet winter months in New Zealand. Thus it is
understandable why epidemic losses tend to be restricted to years when rainfall is abnormally
high in autumn and late spring when soil temperatures are sufficient to support sporulation.
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00288233.1965.10420025#preview
















Infection of native plants by Phytophthora cinnamomi - key threatening process listing
NSW Scientific Committee - final determination
The Scientific Committee, established by the Threatened Species Conservation Act, has made
a Final Determination to list Infection of native plants by Phytophthora cinnamomi as a KEY
THREATENING PROCESS in Schedule 3 of the Act. Listing of key threatening processes is
provided for by Part 2 of the Act.
The Scientific Committee has found that:
1. Phytophthora cinnamomi Rands is a soil borne pathogen belonging to the water mould
group (Oomycetes). The reproductive structures that spread P. cinnamomi (sporangia and
clamydospores) form on vegetative mycelia in soil and plant roots in warm, moist conditions.
Reproduction and infection occur entirely within soil or plants and there is no airborne
transmission of the pathogen.
2. The spread of P. cinnamomi occurs through movement of spores which may swim to new
hosts or be dispersed over large distances in flowing water, such as storm runoff. Some
spread within a site may be by mycelial growth from infected roots to roots of healthy plants.
Propagules of P. cinnamomi may also be dispersed by vehicles (e.g. cars and earth moving
equipment) used in a range of activities (e.g. transport, road making and maintenance),
animals (e.g. feral pigs - Shearer & Tippett 1989), walkers and movement of soil used in the
horticultural industry. In all these cases, movement of P. cinnamomi involves infected soil
and/or root material.
3. There is some scientific debate on whether or not Phytophthora cinnamomi is native to
eastern Australia (Pratt and Heather 1973, Pratt et al. 1973, Old et al. 1984, 1988). The best
current evidence available to the Scientific Committee suggests that Phytophthora
cinnamomi is not native to NSW. Independent of the possible origin of the pathogen, it can be
considered a threat due to the extensive movement and potential for movement as a result of
human activities.
4. Phytophthora cinnamomi was first associated with plant deaths in native vegetation in
NSW in the late 1940s (Fraser 1956). The pathogen appears to be widespread in coastal
forests (Arentz 1974, Blowes 1980, Gerrettson-Cornell 1986, McDougall and Summerell
pers. comm.), but may also occur at higher elevations, e.g. Barrington Tops. There are a
number of places where the pathogen is having /has had a demonstrable impact, but P.
cinnamomi is not ubiquitous as there are areas containing known susceptible species from
which the pathogen cannot be isolated despite extensive soil sampling. Phytophthora
cinnamomi infects a large range of species. Susceptible species display a range of symptoms.
Some are killed, some are damaged but endure, and some show no apparent symptoms. In
some circumstances, P. cinnamomi may contribute to plant death where there are other
stresses present (e.g. waterlogging, drought, and perhaps wildfire). Within a plant species
there may be a variable response to infection (McDougall et al. 2001).
5. Infection of native plants by Phytophthora cinnamomi has been identified as a threat to a
number of species and communities listed in Schedule 1 or 2 of the Threatened Species
Conservation Act. This threat results in the death of plants and reduction in habitat
complexity.

Proposed Gazettal date: 13/12/02
Exhibition period: 13/12/02 - 31/01/03
http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/determinations/PhytophthoraKTPListing.htm

























Phytophthora cinnamomi
IDENTITY
Name: Phytophthora cinnamomi Rands
Taxonomic position: Fungi: Oomycetes: Peronosporales
Common names: Root and fruit rot of avocado (English)
Pourriture des racines, pourriture du collet (French)
Phytophthora-Wurzel und Stammfule (German)
Podredumbre de la raz (Spanish)
Bayer computer code: PHYTCN
EU Annex designation: II/B
HOSTS
The host range is very wide; P. cinnamomi is the most widely distributed Phytophthora
species, with nearly 1000 host species (Zentmyer, 1983). The principal food crop hosts are
avocados (Persea americana), with which the EU is exclusively concerned), and
pineapples (Ananas comosus on which it causes root and heart rot. P. cinnamomi also
attacks Castanea, Cinnamomum, Coniferales, Ericaceae (including Rhododendron spp.),
Eucalyptus, Fagus, Juglans, Quercus and many ornamental trees and shrubs. Its recorded
host range includes most of the temperate fruit trees, but these are not important hosts in
practice. In the EPPO region, avocados are a significant host, in the limited areas where
they are grown.
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION
The geographical origin of P. cinnamomi is not clearly established. It was first described in
Indonesia (Sumatra). Zentmyer (1988) suggests that the species is indigenous in Southeast
Asia and in southern Africa, and spread across the Pacific to Latin America in the 18th
Century. There is, however, no very clear evidence how such spread occurred. The
appearance of the fungus in the EPPO region is much more recent. There is no useful
purpose in giving a geographical distribution for countries where P. cinnamomi has been
recorded on avocado, since the fungus is soil-borne, not host-specialized and can freely
move from one crop to another. P. cinnamomi certainly already occurs on avocado in
several Mediterranean countries.
EPPO region: Belgium, France (including Corsica), Germany, Greece (except Crete),
Ireland, Israel, Italy, Morocco, Netherlands, Portugal (including Azores), Russia
(European), Spain (including Canary Islands), Switzerland, Turkey, UK (England),
Yugoslavia.
Asia: China (Jiangsu), India (Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal), Indonesia (Java,
Sumatra), Israel, Japan (Honshu, Ryukyu Archipelago), Malaysia (Peninsular, Sabah),
Philippines, Taiwan, Turkey, Viet Nam.
Africa: Burundi, Cameroon, Congo, Cte d'Ivoire, Gabon, Guinea, Kenya, Madagascar,
Morocco, Runion, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda, Zaire, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
http://www.eppo.int/QUARANTINE/fungi/Phytophthora_cinnamomi/PHYTCN_ds.pdf