The potential of temperature gradient plates to measure temperature response in fungal pathogens

Abstract

Temperature response curves have been studied for a wide variety of processes in an extensive number of organisms. The temperature response of growth in fungi, however, has rarely been studied across a wide range of temperatures. Temperature gradient plates, more commonly used to assess seed germination in angiosperms, are ideally suited to investigate fungal growth across a wide variety of temperatures. Results allow accurate estimations of Tmin and Tmax, the minimum and maximum temperatures that support growth, and of Topt, the temperature that supports the greatest growth rate. The generation of temperature response curves for a representative sample of individuals within a population also facilitates comparisons between individuals, as well as quantification of variation and heritability in the population‘s temperature response. With food security an important issue on the world agenda, prediction of the effects of fungal pathogens on our crops will play a vital role in plans for the future. Information from temperature response curves will be invaluable in the estimation of parameters in models that predict changes in the effects of fungal pathogens in response to climate change.