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Supplemental Information and References: Water Molds (Oomycetes)


Supplementary information:

Introductory Mycology textbooks with good diagrams for identifying oomycetes:

Alexopoulos, C. J., C.W. Mims, and M. Blackwell. 1996. Introductory Mycology. Wiley, New York.

Kendrick, B. 1992. The Fifth Kingdom, 2nd edition. Mycologue Publications, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.

Webster, J. 1980. Introduction to Fungi. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Websites:

Links to pages that explore oomycetes and their connections to other life forms:

  1. Web of Life:
    http://tolweb.org/tree/phylogeny.html

  2. Eukaryota: Systematics
    http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/alllife/eukaryotasy.html

  3. Introduction to the Oomycota: Water Molds
    http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/chromista/oomycota.html
    Excellent summary about oomycetes. Click on the hyperlink Saprolegnia to see beautiful images of this oomycete.

  4. Tom Volk’s Images of Fungi:
    http://botit.botany.wisc.edu/toms_fungi/
    Click on "Images of fungi..." 
    Open the folder oomycota to get several files of images of different oomycetes (Albugo, Saprolegnia, Plasmopara).

  5. Homepage of APSnet
    http://www.apsnet.org
    Click on Online Publications, then click on APSnet features.
    To learn more about a particular plant disease caused by an oomycete, see the feature story, Potato Late Blight: Live! On the Internet. (March 16-April 30, 1998) Late blight is caused by the oomycete Phytophthora infestans and was responsible for the Irish Potato Famine. The 150th anniversary of this tragic historical event has been commemorated on both sides of the Atlantic in recent years. In this online feature story you can see diagrams and images of the disease and its causal agent, learn about the history of the Great Potato Famine in Ireland, and download a computer game to create disease simulations.

  6. Plant Disease Lessons:
    Downy mildew of grape

    Late blight of potato and tomato
    Phytophthora blight of cucurbits
    Pythium blight of turfgrasses
    Taro leaf blight

References:

Carlile, M.J. and S.C. Watkinson.  1994. The Fungi. Academic Press, San Diego.

Fuller, M.S. and A. Jaworski. 1987. Zoosporic fungi in teaching and research. Southeastern Publishing Co., Athens GA.

Kendrick, B. 1992. The Fifth Kingdom, 2nd edition. Mycologue Publication, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.

Margulis, L. and Schwartz. 1982. Five Kingdoms: An Illustrated Guide to the Phyla of Life on Earth. W.H. Freeman and Co., San Francisco.

Schumann, G.L. 1991. Plant Diseases: Their Biology and Social Impact. APS Press, St. Paul, MN. Click here to see Chapter 1: "The Irish Potato Famine and the Birth of Plant Pathology, pp. 1-24.

Sparrow, F.K. 1960. Aquatic Phycomycetes 2nd Ed. Univ. Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, MI.