As mitigation strategies and chemical control of boxwood blight were the primary focus of a recent review (Palmer and Shishkoff 2014), these subjects will not be covered. The purpose of this mini-review is to provide an overview of recent research advances focused on boxwood blight. However, as a direct result of the disease, in parts of the world where boxwood blight is present, English boxwood is now rarely sold in the nursery trade. Among the different cultivars of boxwood, Buxus sempervirens ‘Suffruticosa’ (English boxwood) is one of the most popular and commonly grown types and is also among the most susceptible to boxwood blight. 15%) of sales among broadleaf evergreens, with an estimated total annual value of 126 million US dollars (USDA-National Agricultural Statistics Service Census of Agriculture 2014 reports, ). In the USA, for example, these plants represent the greatest proportion (approx. 2012 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017).īoxwood also have significant economic value. In many parts of the world, non-cultivated, indigenous boxwood are also common components of native ecosystems, with multiple species listed as endangered (Batdorf 2004 Domenico et al. Boxwood have a long history of cultivation and are often a principal woody plant in built landscapes and historic gardens (Batdorf 2004). Plants susceptible to boxwood blight are members of the family Buxaceae, with the primary economic hosts commonly referred to as boxwood or box, in the genus Buxus. This combination of novel pathogens and widely grown, susceptible hosts presents enormous challenges for disease control, the production of the hosts in the nursery trade, and regulation intended to mitigate the spread of boxwood blight. Two previously unknown species of fungi have been shown to cause the disease. Not only has this new disease already been found on multiple continents, but the most susceptible host is also the most widely grown as a woody ornamental plant. Though many questions remain, the research that continues to address boxwood blight demonstrates the importance of applying a multidisciplinary approach to understand and control emerging plant diseases.īoxwood blight disease (also known as box blight or buxus blight) is a significant concern for the ornamental horticulture industry and is a growing threat to established landscapes and native ecosystems alike. Multiple DNA-based diagnostic assays are available, ranging from probe-based quantitative PCR assays to the use of comparative genomics to develop robust diagnostic markers or provide whole genome-scale identifications. Host range investigations detail high levels of susceptibility among boxwood as well as the potential for asymptomatic boxwood infection and for other plants in the family Buxaceae to serve as additional hosts. Studies of the pathogen life cycle show the formation of long-lived survival structures and that host infection is dependent on inoculum density, temperature, and humidity. Characterization of genetic variation among the Calonectria fungi that cause boxwood blight shows that two unique sister species with different geographic distributions incite the disease. To address the growing concern over boxwood blight, ongoing research focuses on multiple biological and genetic aspects of the causal pathogens and susceptible host plants. First documented in the 1990s at a single location in England, the disease is now reported throughout Europe, Asia, New Zealand, and North America. Boxwood blight is an emerging disease of ornamental and native boxwood plants in the family Buxaceae.
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