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Plant diseases are often beneficial to ecosystems.
At the 7th International Congress on Plant Pathology in Edinburgh last week, they argued that saving wild flowers and trees is no longer enough. They called on governments and conservation organisations to develop plans to protect the genetic diversity of the disease microorganisms to which plants play host. Pathogens are a vital part of the evolutionary process, says David Ingram, president of the British Society for Plant Pathology and Regius Keeper of the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh, who is spearheading the campaign. They help to shape the natural environment, so eliminating them could throw whole ecosystems out of balance. With the continuing rapid loss of habitats and ecosystems worldwide, the increased use of fungicides, pesticides and herbicides in agriculture and the release of genetically modified organisms, the threats to pathogen diversity in the wild are immense.