scholarly journals First Report of Verticillium Wilt Caused by Verticillium nonalfalfae on Tree-of-Heaven (Ailanthus altissima) in Ohio

Plant Disease ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 97 (7) ◽  
pp. 999-999 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Rebbeck ◽  
M. A. Malone ◽  
D. P. G. Short ◽  
M. T. Kasson ◽  
E. S. O'Neal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Verticillium Wilt ◽  
Elongation Factor ◽  
The United States ◽  
Selective Medium ◽  
Ailanthus Altissima ◽  
Tryptophan Synthase ◽  
Protein Coding ◽  
Pike County ◽  
Tree Of Heaven ◽  
Verticillium Nonalfalfae

Verticillium wilt of the highly invasive tree-of-heaven [Ailanthus altissima (Mill.) Swingle], caused by Verticillium nonalfalfae Interbitzin et al. (1), formerly classified as V. albo-atrum Reinke and Berthold, has been reported in the United States from two states: Pennsylvania (2) and Virginia (3). Infected A. altissima in both states exhibited similar symptoms of wilt, premature defoliation, terminal dieback, yellow vascular discoloration, and mortality. In June 2012, the second author observed dead and dying A. altissima trees in southern Ohio (Pike County) that exhibited symptoms similar to those on diseased A. altissima trees in Pennsylvania and Virginia. Samples were collected from stems of three symptomatic A. altissima trees and sent to Penn State for morphological and molecular identification. Immediately upon arrival, samples were surface-disinfected and plated onto plum extract agar (PEA), a semi-selective medium for Verticillium spp., amended with neomycin and streptomycin (2). The samples yielded six isolates, two from each of the three symptomatic trees, all of which were putatively identified as V. nonalfalfae based on the presence of verticillate conidiophores and formation of melanized hyphae. DNA was extracted from three isolates and molecular analyses performed using known primers (1) coding for elongation factor 1-alpha (EF), glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPD), and tryptophan synthase (TS). A BLAST search generated sequences that revealed 100% similarity to V. nonalfalfae for all three protein coding genes among the three Ohio isolates and reference sequences from Ailanthus, including isolates VnAaPA140 (GenBank Accession Nos. KC307764, KC307766, and KC307768) and VnAaVA2 (KC307758, KC307759, and KC307760), as well as isolate PD592 from potato (JN188227, JN188163, and JN188035), thereby confirming taxonomic placement of the Ohio Ailanthus isolates among those recovered from Ailanthus in Pennsylvania and Virginia. Aligned sequences from one representative isolate, VnAaOH1, were deposited into GenBank as accessions KC307761 (EF), KC307762 (GPD), and KC307763 (TS). In August 2012, the pathogenicity of all six isolates was confirmed by root-dipping 10 healthy 3-week-old A. altissima seedlings (seeds collected in University Park, PA) into conidial suspensions of 1 × 107 cfu/ml, wherein all inoculated seedlings wilted and died within 4 and 9 weeks, respectively. V. nonalfalfae was reisolated from all inoculated seedlings; control seedlings inoculated with distilled water remained asymptomatic. Ohio is the third state from which V. nonalfalfae has been reported to be pathogenic on A. altissima. If V. nonalfalfae proves to be widespread, it may represent a natural biocontrol for the invasive A. altissima. Also, since USDA APHIS evaluates and regulates new potential biocontrol agents on a state-by-state basis, it is important to document each state in which V. nonalfalfae is killing A. altissima, so that in-state inoculum can be used for biocontrol efforts, simplifying the regulatory process. References: (1) P. Inderbitzin et al. 2011 PLoS ONE, 6, e28341, 2011. (2) M. J. Schall and D. D. Davis. Plant Dis. 93:747, 2009. (3) A. L. Snyder et al. Plant Dis. 96:837, 2013.

scholarly journals First Report of Verticillium Wilt of Ailanthus altissima in Virginia Caused by Verticillium nonalfalfae

Plant Disease ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 97 (6) ◽  
pp. 837-837 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. L. Snyder ◽  
M. T. Kasson ◽  
S. M. Salom ◽  
D. D. Davis ◽  
G. J. Griffin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biological Control Agent ◽  
The United States ◽  
Ailanthus Altissima ◽  
Post Inoculation ◽  
Distilled Water ◽  
Conidial Suspension ◽  
Tryptophan Synthase ◽  
Protein Coding ◽  
First Report ◽  
Protein Coding Genes

Ailanthus altissima (Mill.) Swingle, commonly known as tree-of-heaven, is an invasive tree species that has spread throughout the United States since its introduction in 1784 (2). During a survey in July 2009, approximately 1,100 A. altissima trees were observed at two locations in western Virginia (a roadside in Montgomery Co. and a wooded area adjacent to a railroad in Bedford Co.) exhibiting foliar wilt symptoms, defoliation, yellowish vascular discoloration, or death at an incidence of ~77%. Similar symptoms on A. altissima were reported in Roanoke, VA in the early 1930s and after 2005 in Pennsylvania, attributed to a Verticillium sp. (1,2). To identify the causal agent, discolored xylem tissue samples were excised from 10 symptomatic A. altissima trees at both locations, soaked in 1% NaOCl for 2 min, rinsed with sterilized distilled water for 5 min, and placed onto plum extract agar. Cultures were incubated in the dark at 22°C for 7 to 14 days. The resultant colonies (three to four per location) were subcultured and identified putatively as a Verticillium sp. closely related to Verticillium albo-atrum Reinke and Berthold (3), based on melanized, thick-walled, resting mycelia and phialides arranged in verticillate whorls that amassed round, oval-shaped conidia (5.1 ± 1.2 μm × 2.8 ± 0.4 μm, n = 100). Molecular identification of two fungal isolates (one per location) was determined by amplification of the protein coding genes elongation factor 1-alpha (EF), glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPD), and tryptophan synthase (TS), using PCR primers developed recently for Verticillium (3). A BLAST search on the edited contigs revealed 100% sequence similarity for all three protein coding genes among the two isolates and reference sequences of isolates PD592 (GenBank Accessions JN188227, JN188163, and JN188035 for EF, GPD, and TS, respectively) and VnAaPA140 (KC307764, KC307766, and KC307768 for EF, GPD, and TS, respectively) of the newly-proposed species, V. nonalfalfae (formerly V. albo-atrum). Aligned sequences from one representative isolate, VnAaVA2 (Bedford Co.), were deposited into GenBank as KC307758 (EF), KC307759 (GPD), and KC307760 (TS). To confirm pathogenicity to A. altissima, the two molecularly characterized isolates (one per location) were inoculated into 18 10-week old A. altissima stems that were grown in an environmental chamber at 24°C, 60% RH, and a 12-h photoperiod from seeds collected in Blacksburg, VA. A conidial suspension of each isolate was injected into each stem (0.1 ml of 1 × 108 CFU/ml/stem). All 36 seedlings inoculated with the proposed V. nonalfalfae isolates developed wilting of leaflets within 2 weeks post-inoculation (WPI), defoliation of leaflets by 6 WPI, and were dead by 9 WPI. Eighteen control seedlings were inoculated similarly with distilled water, and remained asymptomatic. Fungi resembling the proposed species V. nonalfalfae were reisolated from all inoculated stems except the control plants, and the species confirmed morphologically as described above. V. nonalfalfae is a recently proposed species that can infect a variety of plant species (3). To our knowledge, this is the first report of this proposed species on A. altissima in Virginia. New state reports of this pathogen on A. altissima are important for regulatory issues associated with using this pathogen as a potential biological control agent. References: (1) G. F. Gravatt and R. B. Clapper. Plant Dis. Rep. 16:96, 1932. (2) M. J. Schall and D. D. Davis. Plant Dis. 93:747, 2009. (3) P. Inderbitzin et al. PLoS ONE, 6, e28341, 2011.

scholarly journals Intraspecific Root Grafts and Clonal Growth Within Ailanthus altissima Stands Influence Verticillium nonalfalfae Transmission

Plant Disease ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 99 (8) ◽  
pp. 1070-1077 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. S. O’Neal ◽  
D. D. Davis
Keyword(s):  
Verticillium Wilt ◽  
Clonal Growth ◽  
Causal Agent ◽  
Ailanthus Altissima ◽  
Growth Strategies ◽  
Rapid Transmission ◽  
Verticillium Nonalfalfae ◽  
Root Grafts ◽  
Growth Habits

Verticillium nonalfalfae, causal agent of Verticillium wilt, is being considered as a biocontrol for the highly invasive Ailanthus altissima in Pennsylvania. This soilborne fungus is extremely virulent on Ailanthus and rapidly transmitted from diseased to healthy trees within Ailanthus stands. The rapid transmission of the fungus could be facilitated by root grafts, but neither root graft formation in Ailanthus nor Verticillium transmission by root grafts in trees has been reported. Here, V. nonalfalfae transmission between diseased and healthy Ailanthus trees via intraspecific root grafts and clonal growth is evaluated. Using air-spade excavation, dye translocation, and root graft inoculations, functional root grafts were detected between Ailanthus trees and transmission of V. nonalfalfae across root grafts demonstrated. Inoculation of one Ailanthus parent stem resulted in 187 root sprouts showing Verticillium wilt symptoms 12 months after inoculation. This study revealed that clonal growth and root grafts, normally advantageous growth habits, leave Ailanthus stands vulnerable to widespread V. nonalfalfae infection. This study also broadens the understanding of the Ailanthus-Verticillium pathosystem, growth strategies of invasive Ailanthus, and epidemiology of Verticillium wilt within trees.

scholarly journals Verticillium Wilt Caused by Verticillium dahliae and V. nonalfalfae in Potato in Northern China

Plant Disease ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 102 (10) ◽  
pp. 1958-1964 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rui Jing ◽  
Haiyuan Li ◽  
Xiaoping Hu ◽  
Wenjing Shang ◽  
Ruiqing Shen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Verticillium Wilt ◽  
Verticillium Dahliae ◽  
Inner Mongolia ◽  
Solanum Tuberosum L ◽  
Elongation Factor ◽  
Morphological Characteristics ◽  
Northern China ◽  
Potato Production ◽  
Tryptophan Synthase ◽  
The World

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is one of the most important staple foods in many parts of the world including China. In recent years, Verticillium wilt has become a severe threat to potato production in China. During 2015 to 2016, 287 samples of symptomatic potato plants were collected from 15 counties in five provinces from northern China. One hundred and eighty-seven Verticillium-like colonies were isolated from these samples and identified to species based on cultural and morphological characteristics, and multigene phylogeny based on the partial sequences of actin (ACT), elongation factor 1-alpha (EF1α), glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPD), and tryptophan synthase (TS) genes. A consensus-rooted most parsimonious phylogenetic tree was generated from the data. One hundred and fifteen isolates comprising 61.5% of the total were identified as Verticillium dahliae, and the remaining 38.5% of the isolates were identified as V. nonalfalfae. V. dahliae was widely distributed in Shaanxi (84.1%), Inner Mongolia (76.7%), Gansu (12.8%), and Qinghai (100%, representing a single isolate). V. dahliae was not recovered from the samples in Ningxia. V. nonalfalfae dominated the collections from Gansu (87.2%) and Ningxia (100%) but was also recovered from Shaanxi (15.9%) and Inner Mongolia (23.3%) at lower frequencies. Neither V. albo-atrum nor V. alfalfae was recovered from the sampled areas. The V. nonalfalfae isolates were predominantly isolated from the samples collected from altitudes above 1,800 m, and in contrast, V. dahliae isolates were mainly recovered from fields sampled below 1,800 m. The optimum temperature for the colony growth of V. nonalfalfae was lower (20°C) than that for V. dahliae (25°C). Pathogenicity tests demonstrated that V. dahliae and V. nonalfalfae were both pathogens of potato Verticillium wilt, with V. dahliae isolates exhibiting higher virulence than V. nonalfalfae isolates regardless of the collection area of the species. This is the first documentation of V. nonalfalfae infecting S. tuberosum in China and the higher altitudes associated with infections of V. nonalfalfae anywhere in the world.

scholarly journals The eriophyid mite Aculops ailanthi Lin, Jin, & Kuang, 1997 (Acariformes: Prostigmata: Eriophyidae) from tree-of-heaven in the United States – new state records and morphological observations

Acarologia ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-127
Author(s):  
Michael J. Skvarla ◽  
Ron Ochoa ◽  
Andrew Ulsamer ◽  
James Amrine
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
North America ◽  
Electron Micrographs ◽  
The United States ◽  
Ailanthus Altissima ◽  
Scanning Electron Micrographs ◽  
Tree Of Heaven ◽  
And Control ◽  
Scanning Electron ◽  
Female Genital

We report Aculops ailanthi Lin, Jin, and Kuang, 1997 (Acariformes: Trombidiformes: Prostigmata: Eriophyidae) from Pennsylvania and West Virginia, USA; present the first scanning electron micrographs of the species in North America and discuss morphological observations that clarify features observed in slide-mounted specimens, such as the number ridges on female genital flaps; and briefly discuss symptoms and control of an A. ailanthi infestation on greenhouse-grown tree-of-heaven, Ailanthus altissima (Mill.) Swingle (Sapindales: Simaroubaceae).

scholarly journals Identification, Characterization, Pathogenicity, and Distribution of Verticillium alfalfae in Alfalfa Plants in China

Plant Disease ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 103 (7) ◽  
pp. 1565-1576
Author(s):  
Shan Xu ◽  
Michael J. Christensen ◽  
Rebecca Creamer ◽  
Yan Zhong Li
Keyword(s):  
Verticillium Wilt ◽  
Disease Incidence ◽  
Systemic Disease ◽  
Elongation Factor ◽  
Morphological Characteristics ◽  
Red Clover ◽  
Tryptophan Synthase ◽  
Root Tips ◽  
Systemic Symptoms ◽  
Perennial Legumes

Verticillium wilt caused by Verticillium alfalfae results in severe production losses in alfalfa crops and is a Class A quarantined disease in China. During 2015 to 2017, 365 alfalfa fields from 21 locations in six provinces were surveyed, and 45 fields from three closely located sites in Gansu, China were found to have alfalfa plants with symptoms typical of Verticillium wilt, with disease incidence of 12.6 to 53.6%. Isolates were identified to species using morphological characteristics and a maximum likelihood phylogeny of the concatenated partial sequences of actin, elongation factor, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, and tryptophan synthase gene regions of Verticillium isolates. Isolation incidence was 93.9% from roots, 71.7% from stems, 66.1% from petioles, and 32.2% from leaves of field-infected plants, indicative of systemic disease and sporadic distribution of this pathogen. In greenhouse tests, the pathogen infected seedlings and colonized vascular tissues when inoculated on seeds, on root tips, in soil, or in injured, but not uninjured, aerial tissues, causing systemic symptoms like those in the field and significant losses. Pathogenicity testing also revealed that five locally grown perennial legumes (stylo, milkvetch, sainfoin, white clover, and red clover) could host V. alfalfae, with a high virulence to milkvetch, sainfoin, and stylo. This study confirmed that V. alfalfae has become established in some regions of Gansu, China and that is a risk to the alfalfa industry in China.

Antiproliferative effects of tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus altissima Swingle)

2005 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 226-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincenzo De Feo ◽  
Laura De Martino ◽  
Angelo Santoro ◽  
Arturo Leone ◽  
Cosimo Pizza ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ailanthus Altissima ◽  
Antiproliferative Effects ◽  
Tree Of Heaven

scholarly journals First Report of Verticillium Wilt Caused by Verticillium dahliae Impacting Ailanthus altissima in Virginia, U.S.A.

Plant Disease ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 104 (5) ◽  
pp. 1558 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. K. Brooks ◽  
A. L. Snyder ◽  
E. A. Bush ◽  
S. M. Salom ◽  
A. Baudoin
Keyword(s):  
Verticillium Wilt ◽  
Verticillium Dahliae ◽  
Ailanthus Altissima ◽  
First Report

scholarly journals First Report of Armillaria mellea on a Fern from Italy

Plant Disease ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 84 (5) ◽  
pp. 592-592 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Grasso ◽  
A. Pane ◽  
S. O. Cacciola
Keyword(s):  
Pure Culture ◽  
Late Summer ◽  
The United States ◽  
Selective Medium ◽  
Mount Etna ◽  
Washington Dc ◽  
First Report ◽  
Reference Isolate ◽  
Ornamental Foliage Plants ◽  
Electrophoretic Patterns

Several perennial species of rhizomatous herbaceous ferns are cultivated as ornamental foliage plants. During late summer 1999, in a garden at the foot of Mount Etna, eastern Sicily (Italy), we noted a fern hedge showing patches of withered or stunted plants. The fern was identified as Cyrtomium falcatum (L.f.) C. Presl. (=Polystichum falcatum (L.f.) Diels), a house holly fern or Japanese holly fern, which is an ornamental fern native to East and South Asia. Other woody plants in the immediate vicinity had died over the last few years, including apricot and cedar trees whose stumps had not been removed. A close examination of uprooted ferns revealed the presence of creamy white fan-shaped mycelial mats with an odor typical of Armillaria species that were intermixed with the felt-like tangle formed by the rhizomes and roots of the ferns. In autumn, clumps of honey mushrooms with an annulus grew around patches of the withered fern hedge and in other parts of the same garden. The spore print of the basidiocarp was light cream. Basidiospores (8 to 9 × 5 to 6.5 µm) examined under a microscope were hyaline and apiculate. The fungus was isolated in pure culture from infected rhizomes with the selective medium of Kulman and Hendrix (3). In pure culture on 2% malt agar, the fungus formed ribbon-shaped, contorted, fast-growing rhizomorphs that branched profusely. Mycelial proteins of the isolate were analyzed by both polyacrylamide slab gel and starch gel electrophoreses, as described by Bragaloni et al. (1). The electrophoretic patterns of five isozymes (esterase, glutamic oxalacetic transaminase, phospho-glucomutase, alcohol dehydrogenase, and polygalacturonase) of the isolate from fern were identical to those of the reference isolate of A. mellea (Vahl:Fr.) Kumm. from grapevine. Conversely, the patterns were clearly distinct from those of reference isolates from other species, including A. ostoyae (Romagnesi) Herink, A. bulbosa (Barla) Kile et Watling, and A. cepistipes Velenovsky. Thus, on the basis of cultural, morphological, and biochemical characteristics, the species infecting the fern was identified as A. mellea. This pathogen, very common and widespread on wooded or previously wooded sites, has an extremely wide host range, encompassing both woody and herbaceous plants (2,4). However, this is the first report of A. mellea on a fern in Italy. References: (1) M. Bragaloni and N. Anselmi. Eur. J. For. Pathol. 27:147, 1997. (2) D. F. Farr et al. 1989. Fungi on Plants and Plants Products in the United States. The American Phytopathological Society, St. Paul, MN. (3) E. G. Kulman and F. F. Hendrix. Phytopathology 52:1310, 1962. (4) C. G. Shaw and G. A. Kile. 1991 Armillaria root disease. Agric. Handb. No 691. U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Washington, DC.

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