ABSTRACT
According to Fisher et al, Web of Science literature searches and compilation of previous meta-analyses of infection-related species extinction and regional extirpation events show that fungi comprise the highest threat for both animal host and plant-host species. Bursaphelenchus cocophilus causes the red ring disease of palms. Symptoms of red ring disease were first described on Trinidad coconut palms in 1905. Red ring disease can appear in several species of tropical palms, including date, Canary Island date, and Cuban royal, but is most common in oil and coconut palms. Phytoplasma, formerly known as mycoplasma-like organisms, are now usually classified as prokaryotic bacteria that lack cell walls and a membrane-defined nucleus, that reside in phloem plant tissue and that require vectors for transmission. Winds loft spores and insects thousands of miles; sea currents move flotsam and jetsam hosting potential novel colonists; birds transport bacteria, viruses, and nematodes in the soils clinging to their feet.
