Pontevedra, Galicia, Spain; NEW DATE: 12-17 September 2022!
Units involved: 7.03.11, 2.02.15, 2.02.20, 7.02.05, 7.02.09, IUFRO Task Force on Forests and Biological Invasions.

Managed and natural forests provide essential ecosystem services worldwide. Due to the free of movement ofpeople and goods across biogeographical zones,tree species are increasingly challenged by emergent invasive biotic threats.We can see large range expansions of pests and diseases, as well assudden shiftsto naïve hostspecies. Moreover, climate change is also increasingabiotic tree stresses, whichsynergistically interact with tree resistanceleading to negative effects on tree survival and forest resilience. Althoughforest tree species are known to harbour high levels ofgenetic variation, most remain fairly unstudied, particularly in traits related tohost tolerance and resistancetobiotic and abiotic stressors.To understand such variations, within the framework of the genetics of tree-antagonist interactions, is necessary to forecast the survival and prevalence of forest populations in a changing environment. This knowledge can also be exploited in breeding programs aiming to improve forest health. The scientific community ispushingfor an urgent multidisciplinary and coordinatedeffort to solvethese challenges,making use of current and newknowledge, strategies and technologies. Geneticists, evolutionary biologists, ecologists, phytopathologists, entomologists, plant physiologists, breeders and managers are all involved in this challenge. This workshop will provide the idealforum for updating knowledge, evidences, solutions and failuresbetween scientific, academicand practicalapproaches. It is also an opportunity toenhancethe dialogueof long experienced expertise with the newgenerations of scientists, which will provide creative and newsolutions in the near future.

Details: https://www.iufro.org/fileadmin/material/science/divisions/div2/20215/pontevedra20-2nd-announcement.pdf

Pauline Hessenauer, Anna Fijarczyk, Hélène Martin, Julien Prunier, Guillaume Charron, Jérôme Chapuis, Louis Bernier, Philippe Tanguay, Richard C. Hamelin & Christian R. Landry
Nature Ecology & Evolution (2020)

Hybridization and the resulting introgression can drive the success of invasive species via the rapid acquisition of adaptive traits. The Dutch elm disease pandemics in the past 100 years were caused by three fungal lineages with permeable reproductive barriers: Ophiostoma ulmi, Ophiostoma novo-ulmi subspecies novo-ulmi and Ophiostoma novo-ulmi subspecies americana. Using whole-genome sequences and growth phenotyping of a worldwide collection of isolates, we show that introgression has been the main driver of genomic diversity and that it impacted fitness-related traits. Introgressions contain genes involved in host–pathogen interactions and reproduction. Introgressed isolates have enhanced growth rate at high temperature and produce different necrosis sizes on an in vivo model for pathogenicity. In addition, lineages diverge in many pathogenicity-associated genes and exhibit differential mycelial growth in the presence of a proxy of a host defence compound, implying an important role of host trees in the molecular and functional differentiation of these pathogens.

Details: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-020-1133-6

Invermere, BC, Canada; 22-26 July 2019. Units involved: 2.02.15, 7.02.05.

This international meeting will address; - Breeding and genetic conservation of  5-needle pines, with special reference to screening and genetics programs for resistance to White Pine Blister rust (Cronartium ribicola); - Update the current state of knowledge of research in rusts (including blister rust) of forest trees. The conference will be held in conjunction with interested local attendees from other groups, including the Governments of BC, Alberta, and Canada, the USDA Forest Service, local universities, the Whitebark Pine Ecosystem Foundation, and industry partners.

Conference homepage: https://westernforestry.org/upcoming-conferences/iufro-2019-joint-conference-genetics-of-five-needle-pines-rusts-of-forest-trees   

The Phytophthora genus comprises of some of the most destructive plant pathogens and attack a wide range of hosts including economically valuable tree species, both angiosperm and gymnosperm. Many known species of Phytophthora are invasive and have been introduced through nursery and agricultural trade. As part of a larger project aimed at utilizing genomic data for forest disease diagnostics, pathogen detection and monitoring (The TAIGA project: Tree Aggressors Identification using Genomic Approaches; http://taigaforesthealth.com/), the genomes of six important Phytophthora species were sequenced that are important invasive pathogens of trees and a serious threat to the international trade of forest products. This genomic data was used to develop highly sensitive and specific detection assays and for genome comparisons and to make evolutionary inferences and will be useful to the broader plant and tree health community.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213596016301283