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2011 McAlpine Memorial Lecture - A Love Affair with Fusarium

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Abstract

Fusarium is one of the most remarkable genera of the fungi. It is remarkable for it’s genetic and morphological diversity, it’s wide geographic distribution, the diversity of it’s relationships with plants, the diversity of plant diseases for which it is responsible, and its abundance and diversity in natural ecosystems. Evidence to support this contention is presented and discussed focusing on the author’s career-long and continuing research on the genus. The diversity and socio-economic importance of Fusarium diseases is illustrated by reference to diseases common in the Australasian region. Examples include the Fusarium wilts caused by formae speciales of F. oxysporum and the stalk and cob rots of maize and cereal head blights caused by F. graminearum. The importance of Fusarium mycotoxins is noted. Endophytic colonization of living plant tissue by Fusarium species remains a poorly understood and insidious phenomenon. Examples are provided in relation to crop plants and plants in natural ecosystems. The role of natural ecosystems as reservoirs of crop pathogens and potential emerging pathogens is discussed briefly in relation to disease management and biosecurity.

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Acknowledgments

I am indebted to the late P.E Nelson, and to T. A. Toussoun for their encouragement and collaboration on Fusarium, and to my family for their support with many Fusarium excursions and training workshops. I am also very grateful to many postgraduate students and colleagues for their commitment and support for the Fusarium program in the Fusarium Research Laboratory. I gratefully acknowledge the financial support provided by The University of Sydney, the Australian Research Committee (ARC), the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), the Crawford Fund of Australia, AusAID and other agencies.

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    L. W. Burgess

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Burgess, L.W. 2011 McAlpine Memorial Lecture - A Love Affair with Fusarium . Australasian Plant Pathol. 43, 359–368 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13313-013-0261-8

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