''Pythium oligandrum'' is an

oomycete Oomycota forms a distinct phylogenetic lineage of fungus-like eukaryotic microorganisms, called oomycetes (). They are filamentous and heterotrophic, and can reproduce both sexually and asexually. Sexual reproduction of an oospore is the resul ...

. It is a

parasite Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has ...

of many

fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...

and other oomycetes including '' Botrytis'', ''

Fusarium ''Fusarium'' is a large genus of filamentous fungi, part of a group often referred to as hyphomycetes, widely distributed in soil and associated with plants. Most species are harmless saprobes, and are relatively abundant members of the soil mi ...

'' and ''

Phytophthora ''Phytophthora'' (from Greek (''phytón''), "plant" and (), "destruction"; "the plant-destroyer") is a genus of plant-damaging oomycetes (water molds), whose member species are capable of causing enormous economic losses on crops worldwide, a ...

''. It has been licensed as a

biocontrol Biological control or biocontrol is a method of controlling pests, such as insects, mites, weeds, and plant diseases, using other organisms. It relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or other natural mechanisms, but typically also in ...

agent in the form of an

oospore An oospore is a thick-walled sexual spore that develops from a fertilized oosphere in some algae, fungi, and oomycetes. They are believed to have evolved either through the fusion of two species or the chemically-induced stimulation of mycelia ...

soil treatment, which reduces pathogen load and concomitant plant disease. ''P. oligandrum'' have been found to express several genes belonging to the CAZy-family when feeding on prey. ''P. oligandrum'' can grow within the roots of certain plants, including

tomato The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...

and sugar beet. Production of auxin-like substances stimulate plant growth. Defense responses can be induced in the plant, which primes the plant from further infection by pathogenic fungi, oomycetes or

bacteria Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one Cell (biology), biological cell. They constitute a large domain (biology), domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometr ...

Toxicology

UC IPM provides an automated tool to evaluate the

ecotoxicology Ecotoxicology is the study of the effects of toxic chemicals on biological organisms, especially at the population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere levels. Ecotoxicology is a multidisciplinary field, which integrates toxicology and ecology ...

risk of the use of ''P. oligandrum''.

References

* ''Brožová, J''. Exploitation of the mycoparasitic fungus ''Pythium oligandrum'' in plant protection. ''Plant Protection Science''. ''38'':29-35 (2002) * ''Picard,K., Tirilly,Y. and Benhamou,N''. (2000) Cytological effects of cellulases in the parasitism of ''Phytophthora parasitica'' by ''Pythium oligandrum''. Appl.Environ.Microbiol., ''66'', 4305-4314. * ''Le Floch,G., Rey,P., Benizri,E., Benhamou,N. and Tirilly,Y.'' (2003) Impact of auxin-compounds produced by the antagonistic fungus ''Pythium oligandrum'' or the minor pathogen ''Pythium'' group F on plant growth. Plant Soil, ''257'', 459-470. {{Taxonbar, from=Q7263893 oligandrum