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Marine Phytophthora Species Can Hamper Conservation And Restoration Of Vegetated Coastal Ecosystems, Ll Govers, Wam In 'T Veid, Jp Meffert, Tj Bouma, Pcj Van Rijswick, Jht Heusinkveld, R J. Orth, Mm Van Katwijk, T Van Der Heide

VIMS Articles

Phytophthora species are potent pathogens that can devastate terrestrial plants, causing billions of dollars of damage yearly to agricultural crops and harming fragile ecosystems worldwide. Yet, virtually nothing is known about the distribution and pathogenicity of their marine relatives. This is surprising, as marine plants form vital habitats in coastal zones worldwide (i.e. mangrove forests, salt marshes, seagrass beds), and disease may be an important bottleneck for the conservation and restoration of these rapidly declining ecosystems. We are the first to report on widespread infection of Phytophthora and Halophytophthora species on a common seagrass species, Zostera marina (eelgrass), across the …