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Confirmation of the Priority of the Epithet infestans for Phytophthora infestans, Cause of Late Blight of Potato and Tomato
The original name applied to this oomycete was Gangraena tuberum solani, by Martius in 1842. Martius did not provide a description, therefore this cannot be regarded as a valid name. After a period of debate overwhether this was the cause of the potato blight(see Erwin & Ribeiro 1996), Montagne published a descriptionin 1845 under the name Botrytis infestans. It has received much renown as the cause of the great Irish potato famine of the 1840s.
In 1854 Caspary made the transfer to the genus Peronospora, publishing the new combination Peronospora infestans (Mont.) Casp. 1854 in Rabenhorst's Herbarium vivumMycologicum exsiccati # 1879, citing Botrytis infestans Mont. as the basionym. This name is sometimes erroneously cited as Peronospora infestans (Mont.) de Bary 1863, overlooking the fact that Caspary had published the combination previously. In 1876, de Bary used itas the type speciesfor his new genus Phytophthora, making the combination Phytophthora infestans (Mont.) de Bary 1876, which isthe currently accepted name.
In1936, Puttemans questioned the priority of the epithet infestans, arguing that the name Botrytis vastatrix Lib., published 19 Aug. 1845 (with alternate spellingdevastatrix), had priority over Botrytis infestans, published 30 Aug. 1845. He accordingly published the new combination Phytophthora devastatrix (Lib.) Puttemans 1936, citing Botrytisdevastatrix Lib. as basionym andPhytophthora infestans as a synonym.
The name Phytophthora devastatrix was reported in Saccardo's Sylloge Fungorum (1972, XXVI, p. 26), but has not otherwise been widely adopted. Waterhouse (1970) arguedthat the name Phytophthora infestans should be retained and that Botrytis vastatrix was an invalid name because it was published in a newspaper, but this is, in fact,permitted by the Code previous to 1953 (Art. 30.3).
Nevertheless, the epithet vastatrix should not replace infestans. While the name Botrytis vastatrix is in fact valid, it has apparently been overlooked that this name was nomenclaturally superfluous when published. In the protologue for Botrytis vastatrix, Libert cited Botrytis farinosa Fr.:Fr. 1832 as a synonym: "It has been described, for the first time, in 1832, on withered parts, and under the name Botrytis farinacea [farinosa], by Fries, expert Swedish mycologist, in his Systema Mycologicum, vol. III, p. 404." [translation from French provided by Waterhouse 1970]. Libert proposed a replacement name because the epithet vastatrix was more appropriate than farinosa due to the destructive nature of the pathogen; this is not permitted under the current Code, and the name must be treated as an illegitimate superfluousname (Art. 52.1, 52.2(e)).
Furthermore, the name Botrytis vastatrix has been misapplied to the pathogen of potato and tomato, andthereforethe epithet vastatrix is not in competition with infestens. While Libert clearly considered the name Botrytis vastatrix to apply to the pathogen of potato and tomato, the nomenclatural type is that of Botrytis farinosa, as clearly established by Art. 7.4: "A new name formed from a previously published legitimate name...is, in all circumstances, typified by the type of the basionym, even though it may have been applied erroneously to a taxon now considered not to include that type...". Botrytis farinosa was described by Fries in 1832 [year on publication1829] inSystema Mycologicum III:404 from living leaves of an Atriplex sp. This name has sanctioned status (Art. 13.1(d)). In 1849, Fries transferred it to the genus Peronospora, and the current accepted name is Peronospora farinosa (Fr.:Fr.) Fr. 1849.
Nomenclature Reports
Phytophthora infestans (Mont.) de Bary 1876 (Oomycetes, Pythiales)
≡ Botrytis infestans Mont. 1845
≡Peronospora infestans (Mont.) Casp. 1854
= Botrytis fallax Desm. 1846
= Peronospora fintelmannii Casp. 1852
= Botrytis solani Harting 1846
= Phytophthora thalictri G.W. Wilson & Davis 1907
≡ Phytophthora infestans f. sp. thalictri (G.W. Wilson & Davis) G.M. Waterhouse 1963
= Peronospora trifurcata Unger 1847
Notes: The original name applied to this oomycete was Gangraena tuberum solani, by Martius in 1842. After a period of debate (see Erwin & Ribeiro 1996), it was described by Montagne in 1845 and given the name Botrytis infestans. It has received much renown as the cause of the great Irish potato famine of the 1840s, and it is the type of the genus Phytophthora. The name Botrytis devastatrix (alternate spelling vastatrix or devastrix) Lib. 1845 was published previous to Botrytis infestans, and has been listed as a synonym by various authors (e.g. Waterhouse 1963, Erwin & Ribeiro 1996) . If this were true, the epithet vastatrix would have priority for this species. Waterhouse (1970) retained the name Phytophthora infestans, arguing incorrectly that Botrytis vastatrix was an invalid name because it was published in a newspaper, but this is permitted by the Code previous to 1953 (Art. 30.3). While it is in fact valid, Botrytis vastatrix is an illegitimate superfluous name; Libert published it as a replacement name for Botrytis farinosa Fr.:Fr. 1829. Therefore the name Botrytis vastatrix must be typified by Botrytis farinosa (=Peronospora farinosa), and refers to a different species than Phytophthora infestans (Art. 7.4).
Distribution: Cosmopolitan.
Substrate: Tubers, leaves, haulms of potato and tomato. Also stems, flowers, fruits, buds on other hosts.
Disease Note: Late blight of potato and tomato. Overwinters in tubers. Several races occur. Also causes leaf blights and, rarely, damping off, flower, and fruit blight in a wide range of hosts.
Host: Principal hosts are Solanaceae including Solanum spp. (potato) and Lycopersicon esculentum (tomato). Also occurs on hosts in 15 other genera and in ten other families (Erwin & Ribeiro 1996).
Supporting Literature:
Erwin, D.C., and Ribeiro, O.K. 1996. Phytophthora Diseases Worldwide. APS Press, St. Paul, Minnesota, 562 pages.
Kroon, L.P.N.M., Bakker, F.T., van den Bosch, G.B.M., Bonants, P.J.M., and Flier, W.G. 2004. Phylogenetic analysis of Phytophthora species based on mitochondrial and nuclear DNS sequences. Fungal Genet. Biol. 41: 766-782.
Puttemans, A. 1936. Reivindicacao visando a denominacae scientifica da doenca da batateira Phytophthora infestans (Mont.) de Bary. Rodriguesia 2: 341-350.
Stamps, D.J. 1985. Phytophthora infestans. C.M.I. Descr. Pathog. Fungi Bact. 838: 1-2.
Tucker, C.M. 1931. Taxonomy of the genus Phytophthora de Bary. Univ. Missouri Agric. Exp. Sta. Bull. 153: 1-208.
Updated on May 04, 2006
Peronospora farinosa (Fr. : Fr.) Fr. 1849 (Oomycetes, Peronosporales)
≡ Botrytis farinosa Fr. : Fr. 1832
≡Botrytis vastatrix Lib. 1845 Note: Superfluous illegitimate name; Libert cited Botrytis farinosa as a synonym. This name has incorrectly been considered to be synonymous with Phytophthora infestans (e.g. Erwin & Ribeiro 1996). Waterhouse regarded it as an invalid name because it was published in a newspaper, but this is permitted by the Code previous to 1953 (Art. 30.3).
Variant spelling Botrytis devastrix Lib. 1845
≡ Peronospora devastatrix (Lib.) Casp. 1855 Note: Spelling was altered; reason unclear; see Waterhouse 1970.
≡ Phytophthora devastatrix (Lib.) Puttemans 1936
Variant spelling Phytophthora devastrix (Lib.) Puttemans 1936 Note: Erroneously cited by Saccardo as (Lib.) Oudemans (26:26 193
= Peronospora amaranthi Gäum. 1923
= Peronospora atriplicis-halimi Savul. & Rayss 1934
= Peronospora atriplicis-hastatae Savul. & Rayss 1932
= Peronospora atriplicis-hortensis Savul. & Rayss 1932
= Peronospora atriplicis-tataricae Oescu & Radul. 1933
= Peronospora betae Kuehn 1872
= Peronospora bohemica Gäum. 1923
= Peronospora boni-henrici Gäum. 1919
= Peronospora chenopodii Schltdl. 1852
= Peronospora chenopodii-ficifolii Sawada 1916
= Peronospora chenopodii-glauci Gäum. 1919
= Peronospora chenopodii-opulifolii Savul. & Rayss 1932
= Peronospora chenopodii-polyspermi Gäum. 1919
Variant spelling Peronospora chenopodii polyspermi Gäum. 1918
= Peronospora chenopodii-rubri Gäum. 1919
Variant spelling Peronospora chenopodii rubri Gäum. 1918
= Peronospora chenopodii-urbici Savul. & Rayss 1932
= Peronospora chenopodii-vulvariae Savul. & Rayss 1935
= Botrytis effusa Grev. 1824
≡ Peronospora effusa (Grev.) Rabenh. 1854
= Peronospora effusa var. major Casp. 1855
= Peronospora effusa var. minor Casp. 1855 Note: Published as ß-minor.
≡ Peronospora minor (Casp.) Gäum. 1918
= Botrytis epiphylla Pers. 1822
= Peronospora kochiae Gäum. 1919
= Peronospora litoralis Gäum. 1919
= Peronospora monolepidis Gäum. 1923
= Peronospora muralis Gäum. 1920
= Peronospora nitens Oescu & Radul. 1933
= Peronospora obionis-verruciferae Savul. & Rayss 1935
= Peronospora spinaciae Laubert 1906
= Peronospora tatarica Savul. & Rayss 1932
= Peronospora variabilis Gäum. 1919
= Peronospora vistulensis Wróbl. 1915
Notes: Multiple species of downy mildews on Chenopodiaceae have been described based on host specialization, but Yerkes et al. (1959) found them morphologically indistinguishable and made them synonyms of Peronospora farinosa. Byford (1967) argued that, despite the absence of morphologically distinguishing characters, differences in host range amongst isolates from different genera justified treating them as distinct formae speciales.
Distribution: Cosmopolitan.
Substrate: Leaves.
Disease Note: Downy mildew.
Host: Chenopodiaceae. Also reported on Amaranthus (Amaranthaceae) and Tetragonia (Aizoaceae).
Supporting Literature:
Brandenberger, L.P., Correll, J.C., and Morelock, T.E. 1991. Nomenclature of the downy mildew fungus on spinach. Mycotaxon 41: 157-160.
Puttemans, A. 1936. Reivindicacao visando a denominacae scientifica da doenca da batateira Phytophthora infestans (Mont.) de Bary. Rodriguesia 2: 341-350.
Waterhouse, G.M. 1970. The genus Phytophthora de Bary. Mycol. Pap. 122: 1-59.
Updated on Jun 08, 2006
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Written by Erica Cline, 2006
Suggested citation: Cline, E. Phytophthora infestans. Systematic Mycology and Microbiology Laboratory, ARS, USDA. Retrieved November 21, 2009, from http://nt.ars-grin.gov/sbmlweb/OnlineResources/FungiOnline.cfm .
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