Help us sample wild strawberries!

Last changed: 22 August 2024
Wild strawberries. Photo.

Wild strawberries grow across almost all of Europe and are constantly exposed to microbial pathogens which may cause plant diseases. We need your help collecting wild strawberry plants to investigate the plant bodyguard Aureobasidium pullulans. At this point we are looking for samples from France and Eastern Europe.

You most likely have seen wild strawberry plants growing close to your home or workplace or your favorite local forest. Wild strawberries grow across almost all of Europe and are common in many habitats. You can find populations of wild strawberries with flowers during late spring, with fruits during summer season  or without in early spring or fall.

Black yeast - a microbial bodyguard

Strawberries are, like many plants, threatened by plant diseases. Examples are grey mould, common leaf spot disease, anthracnose disease and leaf scorch. Fortunately, certain wild microbes are beneficial and may function as plant bodyguards against the diseases. The black yeast Aureobasidium pullulans, is one of wild strawberries’ most important microbial bodyguards. This yeast is present in almost all strawberry populations across the European continent.

How do resistance and traits vary?

In this project, we will investigate how plant resistance and yeast traits vary – and perhaps co-vary – across Europe and across different environments. This will help us understand how plant-microbe associations evolve at the continental scale and may provide insight into how crop protection can be optimized for cultivated strawberry.

Therefore, we ask you to sample some wild strawberry plants from at least one location in your European country and send them to us.

Help us sample wild strawberries

We need your help collecting wild strawberry plants to investigate the plant bodyguard Aureobasidium pullulans. If we are able to isolate this black yeast from your plants, we will offer you to be a co-author on a scientific publication.

Facts:

How to sample

How to sample the plants and send them to us for analyses. At this point (August 2023) we still need samples from France and Eastern Europe.

  • First, contact nataliia.khomutovska@slu.se to make sure that we don’t already have samples from your area.
  • Then, find one or two populations of wild strawberry, Fragaria vesca. If you provide plants from two populations, then the distance between the populations should be at least 10 km.
  • Dig or pull up some plants from each population.
  • Place each plant in a separate plastic bag or tube and spray it with some water.
  • Write down the geographic coordinates, and some habitat characteristics. For example: An urban site, next to a bicycle road; the soil is dry and sandy and there is high sun exposure.
  • Place your samples in a box or a padded envelope and send them by normal mail at your first convenience. If you cannot send the samples immediately, keep them in a cool fridge.

Address (parcels)

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Nataliia Khomutovska
VSB
Växtskyddsvägen 3
23456 Alnarp
SWEDEN

Address (envelopes)

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Nataliia Khomutovska
VSB
Box 190
23422 Lomma
SWEDEN

Co-authorship and Acknowledgements

We will invite contributing researchers to be co-authors on the first scientific publication resulting from the project, provided that A. pullulans can be isolated from their contributed strawberry plants. To be eligible for co-authorship you need to be affiliated with a university or a research institute. Other contributors will be mentioned in the Acknowledgement section of the publication.

This project is a collaboration with SLU and the University of Udine, Italy. Our collaboration partner at the University of Udine is Alessandra Di Francesco.

Portrait photo of a woman outdoors. Photo.