Testing the 'hybrid susceptibility' and 'phenological sink' hypotheses using the P. balsamifera - P. deltoides hybrid zone and septoria leaf spot [Septoria musiva].

ABSTRACT: Hybrid genotypes that arise between plant species frequently have increased susceptibility to arthropod pests and fungal pathogens. This pattern has been attributed to the breakdown of plant defenses ('Hybrid susceptibility' hypothesis) and (or) to extended periods of susceptibility attributed to plant phenologies in zones of species overlap and (or) hybridization ('phenological sink' hypothesis). We examined these hypotheses by assessing the susceptibility of parental and hybrid Populus host genotypes to a leaf spot disease caused by the fungal pathogen Septoria musiva. For this purpose, 214 genotypes were obtained from morphologically pure zones of P. balsamifera and P. deltoides, and from an intervening zone of overlap and hybridization on the drainage of the Red Deer River, Alberta, Ca

SUBMITTER: LeBoldus JM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3874013 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature