Meeting Announcement |
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3rd International
Phytophthora and Pythium Workshop
Workshop Announcement - Description - Organizers
Program - Call for Papers
Program Description
Phytophthora and Pythium are fungus-like genera in the new kingdom Straminipila. The genus Phytophthora consists of more than 80 species and includes a group of important plant pathogens, including historically devastating species such as P. cinnamomi, P. infestans and P. ramorum.
Interest in the taxonomy of Phytophthora has increased exponentially in the last five years with advances in powerful molecular techniques and phylogenetics, the integration of morphological and molecular methods, and the increase in survey efforts in different regions of the world, particularly in Australia, Europe and North America. Several novel species of Phytophthora recently have been discovered and described, including species of hybrid origin.
The genus Pythium consists of more than 150 species and represents an ecologically, physiologically and pathologically diverse group of straminipiles, with worldwide distribution and extremely wide levels of niche diversity unsurpassed by any other straminipile or fungus. Morphological and molecular taxonomy of the genus Pythium has progressed substantially within the last five years as well. Numerous new species have been described, and data have been generated that suggest the current genus may actually represent multiple genera.
The proliferation of newly described species in Phytophthora, Pythium and related genera is indicative of our limited understanding of the diversity and dynamics of these organisms in various ecosystems. This workshop will include presentations from keynote speakers and contributions from international scientists on the systematics and evolution of Phytophthora, Pythium and related genera based on biology, morphology, ecology and molecular data.