First Report of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lactucae Race 1 Causing Fusarium Wilt of Lettuce in Norway

Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) is produced in Norway both in field and greenhouses. In Norway, greenhouse lettuce is one of the most important vegetables grown year-round. In winter 2018, wilting symptoms were observed on soil-grown lettuce of the cultivar Frillice in a greenhouse in south east Norway (Buskerud county). Affected plants showed stunted growth, wilting of outer leaves, and brownish discoloration of vascular tissues of taproots and crowns. According to the producer, the disease led to an estimated 10% of yield losses. Fungal isolates were obtained from crowns and roots of diseased plants collected from the greenhouse in 2018 and 2019. Two single spore isolates, 231274 from 2018 and 231725 from 2019, were used in further studies. The isolates were incubated on synthetic nutrient-poor agar (SNA) at 18-20 ⁰C, and a 12 hours dark, 12 hours UV light cycle. Isolate 231274 produced abundant macro- and microconidia characteristics of Fusarium oxysporum while macroconidia were never observed in isolate 231725. On potato dextrose agar (PDA), colonies of isolate 231274 were purple in color and colonies of isolate 231725 were pinkish with abundant aerial mycelium. For PCR-assay, DNA from mycelia was extracted using Easy-DNA kit (Invitrogen). A portion of the translation elongation factor 1-α (EF1-α) gene was amplified using primers F-728F (Carbone and Kohn. 1999) and EF2 (O'Donnell et al. 1998) as described by Aas et al. 2018. Blast analysis of both sequences (accession no. MW316853 for 231274 and MW316854 for 231275) obtained a 99% homology with the sequence of Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. lactucae (FOL) race 1 strain S1 (accession no. DQ837657)(Mbofung et al. 2007). Both isolates were identified as race 1 by using specific primers Hani3’ and Hanilatt3rev (Pasquali et al. 2007) as described by Cabral et al. 2014. To complete Koch’s postulate, lettuce plants of the cultivar Frillice were used. Race identity was confirmed using the differential lettuce cultivars Costa Rica No.4 (resistant to FOL race 1), Banchu Red Fire (resistant to FOL races 2 and 4) and Romana Romabella (resistant to FOL races 1 and 2) (Gilardi et al. 2017) provided by the breeding company Rijk Zwaan (De Lier, The Netherlands). For inoculation, roots of six 2-weeks old seedlings per cultivar were dipped in a spore suspension (1 x 106 CFU/ml) for 1 min, while controls were dipped in distilled water. Seedlings were planted in 250 ml pots containing fertilized potting substrate, and were placed in a greenhouse with temperature ranging from 15 to 35 ⁰C and an average of 23 ⁰C. After 10 days reduced growth was observed in cultivars Frillice and Banchu Red Fire for both fungal isolates. After 25 days wilting was observed in both cultivars. Affected plants presented discoloration of vascular tissue. No difference in growth was observed between cultivars Romana Romabella and Costa Rica No. 4 and their respective controls. FOL was re-isolated from all inoculated cultivars but not from controls. The colony patterns of the recovered isolates were the same than those of the isolates used for inoculation. These results confirm that the isolate belongs to race 1. Greenhouse lettuce in Norway is mainly produced in hydroponics. FOL is here reported to cause damages in soil- grown lettuce. Nevertheless FOL in hydroponic systems has been reported in Japan (Fujinaga et al. 2003) and Thailand (Thongkamngam and Jaenaksorn 2017). Thus, the possibility of infections in hydroponics remain a big concern for lettuce production in Norway.

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First Report of Stem Blight of Blueberry in California Caused by Neofusicoccum parvum

Plant Disease ◽

10.1094/pdis-03-14-0325-pdn ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 98 (9) ◽

pp. 1280-1280 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

S. T. Koike ◽

S. Rooney-Latham ◽

A. F. Wright

Keyword(s):

Vascular Tissue ◽

Elongation Factor ◽

Aerial Mycelium ◽

Its Region ◽

Vaccinium Corymbosum ◽

Width Ratio ◽

Single Spore ◽

Neofusicoccum Parvum ◽

Stem Blight ◽

Agar Plug

In July 2013 in coastal (Santa Barbara County) California, commercial plantings of southern highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) developed symptoms of a previously undiagnosed disease. Symptoms consisted of reddening and wilting of foliage, with leaves and small twigs later drying up. The bark of diseased branches was discolored and sunken; removal of this bark revealed a brown discoloration of the underlying wood. Approximately 5% of the planting was affected. When placed on acidified potato dextrose agar (A-PDA), surface disinfested pieces of symptomatic wood consistently yielded one type of fungus. On A-PDA, isolates produced extensive white aerial mycelium that turned dark gray after 4 to 5 days and formed pycnidia after 21 days. Three single-spore isolates were grown on PDA for 21 days for morphological and molecular characterization. Conidia were hyaline, smooth, and ellipsoid with round apices and truncated bases. Conidia measured 13 to 20 × 5 to 7.5 μm (n = 50; mean 16.7 × 6.1 μm), with a length/width ratio of 2.73. After 25 days, conidia became biseptate with a darker middle cell. rDNA sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the isolates (GenBank KJ126847 to 49), amplified using primers ITS1 and ITS4 (5), were 99% identical to the holotype isolate of Neofusicoccum parvum Pennycook and Samuels (3) by a BLAST query (GU251125). Partial sequences of the translation elongation factor 1-alpha (EF1-α) gene (KJ126850 to 52), obtained using primers EF728Fa and EF986R (5), were 99% identical to N. parvum (GU251257). To demonstrate Koch's postulates, 14-day-old colonies of the three N. parvum isolates were grown on A-PDA. Using three blueberry cultivars (Abundance, Jewel, and Snowchaser), slits were cut beneath the epidermis of branches 1 cm diameter or less; one colonized agar plug (6 mm diameter) was placed into each cut and the epidermis was resealed with Parafilm. Ten inoculations (one inoculation per branch; two branches per plant) were made for each isolate and each cultivar; inoculated plants were maintained in a greenhouse. After 10 to 14 days, leaves on inoculated branches turned red and wilted, bark above and below the inoculation sites turned brown, and vascular tissue beneath the bark was also brown. After 21 days, diseased areas became sunken. N. parvum was recovered from all inoculated branches of all cultivars and matched the characteristics of the original isolates. Control branches, inoculated with sterile agar plugs, did not develop any symptoms and N. parvum was not isolated. This experiment was repeated with similar results. Many Botryosphaeriaceae species, including N. parvum, are associated with canker and dieback symptoms on blueberry worldwide (2). To our knowledge, this is the first documentation of stem blight caused by N. parvum on blueberry in CA. Blueberry is a rapidly expanding industry in the state, with 960 ha planted in 2005 increasing to 2,830 ha in 2012 (1). Drought stress predisposes plants to stem blight caused by Botryosphaeriacease species (4); therefore, expansion into arid areas of CA could increase the incidence and severity of N. parvum. References: (1) N. Amer. Blueberry Council. 2012 World Blueberry Acreage & Prod. Rept., 2013. (2) D. F. Farr and A. Y. Rossman. Fungal Databases. Syst. Mycol. Microbiol. Lab., online publication, ARS, USDA. Retrieved February 5, 2014. (3) S. R Pennycook and G. J. Samuels. Mycotaxon 24:445, 1985. (4) W. A. Sinclair and H. H. Lyon. Diseases of Trees and Shrubs, Second Edition. Comstock Publ. Assoc. 2005. (5) B. Slippers et al. Mycologia 96:83, 2004.

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First Report of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici Race 2 on Tomato in Italy

Plant Disease ◽

10.1094/pdis.1999.83.10.967b ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 83 (10) ◽

pp. 967-967 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

V. M. Stravato ◽

R. Buonaurio ◽

C. Cappelli

Keyword(s):

Fusarium Oxysporum ◽

Fusarium Wilt ◽

Vascular Tissue ◽

Morphological Features ◽

Pathogenicity Test ◽

First Report ◽

Fungal Isolates ◽

Race 1 ◽

Race 2 ◽

I Gene

During the summer of 1997, symptoms of Fusarium wilt were observed on tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) cvs. Monica F1 and PS 110, which bear the I gene for resistance to race 1 of Fusarium oxysporum Schlechtend.:Fr. f. sp. lycopersici (Sacc.) W.C. Snyder & H.N. Hans., in two commercial production greenhouses in Latium (Fondi) and one greenhouse in Sardinia (Oristano). Infected plants showed yellowing, stunting, vascular discoloration, and premature death. A fungus from tomato stems with discolored vascular tissue was consistently isolated on potato dextrose agar (PDA) and, based on morphological features, was identified as F. oxysporum. To verify the pathogenicity of four fungal isolates, cv. Bonny Best tomato plants, which do not carry genes for Fusarium wilt resistance, were inoculated by dipping roots of 2-week-old seedlings in a suspension of 105 microconidia per ml for 30 s. Inocula were obtained from 1-week-old fungal cultures grown on PDA. Roots of control plants were dipped in water. Seedlings were transplanted to pots containing peat and river sand (1:1, vol/vol) and placed in a greenhouse at 20 to 25°C. One month after inoculation, all fungal isolates provoked wilting of inoculated plants. No symptoms were observed on control plants. The morphological features of the fungus reisolated from diseased plants were similar to those of the original isolates. Based on the pathogenicity test, we concluded that the fungal isolates belong to F. oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici. To determine the races of the fungal isolates, differential tomato lines VFN8 (I gene for resistance to race 1), Florida MH-1 (I and I2 genes for resistance to races 1 and 2), and I3R (I, I2, and I3 genes for resistance to races 1, 2, and 3) were inoculated with the four fungal isolates, using the same procedure described for the pathogenicity test. Because disease symptoms were detected on VFN8 but not on Florida MH-1 and I3R, we deduced that the fungal isolates belong to F. oxysporum race 2. This is the first report of F. oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici race 2 in Italy. Previous research indicated that race 1 is present in Italy (1). Currently, many commercially acceptable cultivars resistant to races 1 and 2 are available to Italian greenhouse growers. Reference: (1) M. Cirulli. Phytopathol. Mediterr. 4:63, 1965.

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Characterization of Pathogenic and Nonpathogenic Fusarium oxysporum Isolates Associated with Commercial Tomato Crops in the Andean Region of Colombia

Pathogens ◽

10.3390/pathogens9010070 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 70 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Sandra L. Carmona ◽

Diana Burbano-David ◽

Magda R. Gómez ◽

Walter Lopez ◽

Nelson Ceballos ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fusarium Oxysporum ◽

Agricultural Sector ◽

Elongation Factor ◽

Specific Marker ◽

Andean Region ◽

Tomato Production ◽

Fungal Isolates ◽

Virulent Strains ◽

Race 2

In Colombia, tomato production under protected conditions represents an important economic contribution to the agricultural sector. Fusarium wilt diseases, caused by pathogenic formae speciales of the soil-borne fungus Fusarium oxysporum Schltdl., cause significant yield losses in tomatoes throughout the world. Investigation of the F. oxysporum–tomato pathosystem in Colombia is required to develop appropriate alternative disease management. In this study, 120 fungal isolates were obtained from four different departments in the Central Andean Region in Colombia from tomato crops with symptoms of wilt disease. A molecular characterization of the fungal isolates was performed using the SIX1, SIX3, and SIX4 effector genes of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici W.C. Snyder & H.N. Hansen (Fol). Additionally, we developed a new specific marker to distinguish between Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. radicis-lycopersici Jarvis & Shoemaker (Forl) and Fol isolates. Furthermore, a phylogenetic analysis using the Translation Elongation Factor 1-alpha (EF1a) gene was performed with the collected isolates. Two isolates (named Fol59 and Fol-UDC10) were identified as Fol race 2, four isolates were identified as Forl, six isolates were identified as F. solani, and most of the isolates were grouped within the F. oxysporum species complex. The phylogenetic tree of EF1a showed that most of the isolates could potentially correspond to nonpathogenic strains of F. oxysporum. Additional pathogenicity assays carried out with Fol59 and Fol-UDC10 confirmed that both isolates were highly virulent strains. This study represents a contribution to the understanding of the local interaction between tomatoes and F. oxysporum in Colombia.

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First report of Trichoderma afroharzianum causing seed rot on maize in Italy

Plant Disease ◽

10.1094/pdis-12-21-2697-pdn ◽

2022 ◽

Author(s):

Martina Sanna ◽

Massimo Pugliese ◽

Maria Lodovica GULLINO ◽

Monica Mezzalama

Keyword(s):

Rna Polymerase Ii ◽

Elongation Factor ◽

Aerial Mycelium ◽

Light Cycle ◽

Conidial Suspension ◽

Ear Rot ◽

Trichoderma Spp ◽

Trichoderma Species ◽

First Report ◽

Pathogenicity Tests

Maize (Zea mays L.) is a cereal crop of great economic importance in Italy; production is currently of 60,602,320 t, covering 588,597 ha (ISTAT 2021). Trichoderma species are widespread filamentous fungi in soil, well known and studied as biological control agents (Vinale et al., 2008). Seeds of a yellow grain hybrid (class FAO 700, 132 days) were collected in September 2020 from an experimental field located in Carmagnola (TO, Italy: GPS: 44°53'11.0"N 7°40'60.0"E) and tested with blotter test (Warham et al., 1996) to assess their phytosanitary condition. Over the 400 seeds tested, more than 50% showed rotting and development of green mycelium typical of the genus Trichoderma. Due to the high and unexpected percentage of decaying kernels, ten colonies were identified by morphological and molecular methods. Single conidia colonies of one Trichoderma (T5.1) strain were cultured on Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA) for pathogenicity tests, and on PDA and Synthetic Nutrient-Poor Agar (SNA) for morphological and molecular identification. The colonies grown on PDA and SNA showed green, abundant, cottony, and radiating aerial mycelium, and yellow pigmentation on the reverse. Colony radius after 72 h at 30°C was of 60-65 mm on PDA and of 50-55 mm on SNA. The isolates produced one cell conidia 2.8 - 3.8 µm long and 2.1 - 3.6 µm wide (n=50) on SNA. Conidiophores and phialides were lageniform to ampulliform and measured 4.5 – 9.7 µm long and 1.6 – 3.6 µm wide (n=50); the base measure 1.5 – 2.9 µm wide and the supporting cell 1.4 – 2.8 µm wide (n=50). The identity of one single-conidia strain was confirmed by sequence comparison of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS), the translation elongation factor-1α (tef-1α), and RNA polymerase II subunit (rpb2) gene fragments (Oskiera et al., 2015). BLASTn searches of GenBank using ITS (OL691534) the partial tef-1α (OL743117) and rpb2 (OL743116) sequences of the representative isolate T5.1, revealed 100% identity for rpb2 to T. afroharzianum TRS835 (KP009149) and 100% identity for tef-1α to T. afroharzianum Z19 (KR911897). Pathogenicity tests were carried out by suspending conidia from a 14-days old culture on PDA in sterile H2O to 1×106 CFU/ml. Twenty-five seeds were sown in pots filled with a steamed mix of white peat and perlite, 80:20 v/v, and maintained at 23°C under a seasonal day/night light cycle. Twenty primary ears were inoculated, by injection into the silk channel, with 1 ml of a conidial suspension of strain T5.1 seven days after silk channel emergence (BBCH 65) (Pfordt et al., 2020). Ears were removed four weeks after inoculation and disease severity, reaching up to 75% of the kernels of the twenty cobs, was assessed visually according to the EPPO guidelines (EPPO, 2015). Five control cobs, inoculated with 1 ml of sterile distilled water were healthy. T. afroharzianum was reisolated from kernels showing a green mold developing on their surface and identified by resequencing of tef-1α gene. T. afroharzianum has been already reported on maize in Germany and France as causal agent of ear rot of maize (Pfordt et al. 2020). Although several species of Trichoderma are known to be beneficial microorganisms, our results support other findings that report Trichoderma spp. causing ear rot on maize in tropical and subtropical areas of the world (Munkvold and White, 2016). The potential production of mycotoxins and the losses that can be caused by the pathogen during post-harvest need to be explored. To our knowledge this is the first report of T. afroharzianum as a pathogen of maize in Italy.

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First Report of Race 3 of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici in Southeastern Florida

Plant Disease ◽

10.1094/pdis.2000.84.2.199b ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 84 (2) ◽

pp. 199-199

Author(s):

R. C. Ploetz ◽

J. L. Haynes

Keyword(s):

Fusarium Oxysporum ◽

Fusarium Wilt ◽

Personal Communication ◽

Crown Rot ◽

Basal Cells ◽

Single Spore ◽

Tomato Cultivar ◽

Race 1 ◽

Race 2 ◽

Research And Education

Race 3 of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici, cause of Fusarium wilt of tomato, Lycopersicon esculentum, was first recognized in Florida in 1982 on the west coast (Hillsborough and Manatee counties) (2). Approximately 10 years later, race 3 was reported in northeastern production areas of the state (Gadsden County) (1) and was observed on the east coast (Ft. Pierce area) (D. O. Chellemi, personal communication). During the 1998 to 1999 season, mature plants of Sanibel, a commercial tomato cultivar with resistance to races 1 and 2, were observed with symptoms of Fusarium wilt at the University of Florida's Tropical Research and Education Center in Homestead. Approximately 20% of the plants were conspicuously wilted, chlorotic, and necrotic in all or unilateral portions of the canopy. Internal, vascular discoloration in affected plants extended far into the canopy, distinguishing the disease from Fusarium crown rot, caused by F. oxysporum f. sp. radicis-lycopersici. Pure colonies of fungi were isolated from surface-disinfested (10 s with 70% ethanol, 2 min with 10% bleach) stem segments on potato dextrose agar (PDA) amended with streptomycin (100 mg/liter), rifamycin (50 mg/liter), and a commercial miticide (Danitol 2EHC [4 drops/liter]). Isolates were identified as F. oxysporum due to their production of typical falcate macroconidia with foot-shaped basal cells, microconidia borne in false heads only on mono-phialides, and chlamydospores. In replicated (three) greenhouse trials, six single-spore isolates were used to root-dip inoculate (107 conidia per ml) seedlings of differential tomato cultivars (Bonnie Best, no resistance; Manapal, race 1 resistance; Walter, race 1 and race 2 resistance). All isolates were pathogenic on each of the differential cultivars, and one isolate, 2-1, caused severe damage on Walter (mean rating of 3.5 on a 1 to 5 scale). The results were repeated in a second trial with the most virulent isolate. In both trials, pure colonies of F. oxysporum were recovered from symptomatic seedlings. Southeastern Florida is the last major tomatoproduction area in Florida to be affected by race 3 of F. oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici. References: (1) D. O. Chellemi and H. A. Dankers. Plant Dis. 76:861, 1992. (2) R. B. Volin and J. P. Jones. Proc. Fla. State Hortic. Soc. 95:268, 1982.

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A Newly Developed Real-Time PCR Assay for Detection and Quantification of Fusarium oxysporum and Its Use in Compatible and Incompatible Interactions with Grafted Melon Genotypes

Phytopathology ◽

10.1094/phyto-11-12-0293-r ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 103 (8) ◽

pp. 802-810 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Anita Haegi ◽

Valentina Catalano ◽

Laura Luongo ◽

Salvatore Vitale ◽

Michele Scotton ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fusarium Oxysporum ◽

Real Time ◽

Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction ◽

Elongation Factor ◽

Incompatible Interaction ◽

Fungal Development ◽

Race 1 ◽

Pathogen Colonization ◽

Species Specific ◽

Detection And Quantification

A reliable and species-specific real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assay was developed for detection of the complex soilborne anamorphic fungus Fusarium oxysporum. The new primer pair, designed on the translation elongation factor 1-α gene with an amplicon of 142 bp, was highly specific to F. oxysporum without cross reactions with other Fusarium spp. The protocol was applied to grafted melon plants for the detection and quantification of F. oxysporum f. sp. melonis, a devastating pathogen of this cucurbit. Grafting technologies are widely used in melon to confer resistance against new virulent races of F. oxysporum f. sp. melonis, while maintaining the properties of valuable commercial varieties. However, the effects on the vascular pathogen colonization have not been fully investigated. Analyses were performed on ‘Charentais-T’ (susceptible) and ‘Nad-1’ (resistant) melon cultivars, both used either as rootstock and scion, and inoculated with F. oxysporum f. sp. melonis race 1 and race 1,2. Pathogen development was compared using qPCR and isolations from stem tissues. Early asymptomatic melon infections were detected with a quantification limit of 1 pg of fungal DNA. The qPCR protocol clearly showed that fungal development was highly affected by host–pathogen interaction (compatible or incompatible) and time (days postinoculation). The principal significant effect (P ≤ 0.01) on fungal development was due to the melon genotype used as rootstock, and this effect had a significant interaction with time and F. oxysporum f. sp. melonis race. In particular, the amount of race 1,2 DNA was significantly higher compared with that estimated for race 1 in the incompatible interaction at 18 days postinoculation. The two fungal races were always present in both the rootstock and scion of grafted plants in either the compatible or incompatible interaction.

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First report of Fusarium falciforme (FSSC 3+4) causing root rot on chickpea in Mexico

Plant Disease ◽

10.1094/pdis-05-21-1123-pdn ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Sixto Velarde Felix ◽

Victor Valenzuela ◽

Pedro Ortega ◽

Gustavo Fierros ◽

Pedro Rojas ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fusarium Solani ◽

Root Rot ◽

Species Complex ◽

Elongation Factor ◽

Morphological Characteristics ◽

Aerial Mycelium ◽

Pathogenicity Test ◽

Conidial Suspension ◽

Single Spore ◽

First Report

Chickpea (Cicer aretinium L.) is a legume crop of great importance worldwide. In January 2019, wilting symptoms on chickpea (stunted grow, withered leaves, root rot and wilted plants) were observed in three fields of Culiacan Sinaloa Mexico, with an incidence of 3 to 5%. To identify the cause, eighty symptomatic chickpea plants were sampled. Tissue from roots was plated on potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium. Typical Fusarium spp. colonies were obtained from all root samples. Ten pure cultures were obtained by single-spore culturing (Ff01 to Ff10). On PDA the colonies were abundant with white aerial mycelium, hyphae were branched and septae and light purple pigmentation was observed in the center of old cultures (Leslie and Summerell 2006). From 10-day-old cultures grown on carnation leaf agar medium, macroconidias were falciform, hyaline, with slightly curved apexes, three to five septate, with well-developed foot cells and blunt apical cells, and measured 26.6 to 45.8 × 2.2 to 7.0 μm (n = 40). The microconidia (n = 40) were hyaline, one to two celled, produced in false heads that measured 7.4 to 20.1 (average 13.7) μm × 2.4 to 8.9 (average 5.3) μm (n = 40) at the tips of long monophialides, and were oval or reniform, with apexes rounded, 8.3 to 12.1 × 1.6 to 4.7 μm; chlamydospores were not evident. These characteristics fit those of the Fusarium solani (Mart.) Sacc. species complex, FSSC (Summerell et al. 2003). The internal transcribed spacer and the translation elongation factor 1 alpha (EF1-α) genes (O’Donnell et al. 1998) were amplified by polymerase chain reaction and sequenced from the isolate Ff02 and Ff08 (GenBank accession nos. KJ501093 and MN082369). Maximum likelihood analysis was carried out using the EF1-α sequences (KJ501093 and MN082369) from the Ff02 and Ff08 isolates and other species from the Fusarium solani species complex (FSSC). Phylogenetic analysis revealed the isolate most closely related with F. falciforme (100% bootstrap). For pathogenicity testing, a conidial suspension (1x106 conidia/ml) was prepared by harvesting spores from 10-days-old cultures on PDA. Twenty 2-week-old chickpea seedlings from two cultivars (P-2245 and WR-315) were inoculated by dipping roots into the conidial suspension for 20 min. The inoculated plants were transplanted into a 50-hole plastic tray containing sterilized soil and maintained in a growth chamber at 25°C, with a relative humidity of >80% and a 12-h/12-h light/dark cycle. After 8 days, the first root rot symptoms were observed on inoculating seedlings and the infected plants eventually died within 3 to 4 weeks after inoculation. No symptoms were observed plants inoculated with sterilized distilled water. The fungus was reisolated from symptomatic tissues of inoculated plants and was identified by sequencing the partial EF1-α gene again and was identified as F. falciforme (FSSC 3 + 4) (O’Donnell et al. 2008) based on its morphological characteristics, genetic analysis, and pathogenicity test, fulfilling Koch’s postulates. The molecular identification was confirmed via BLAST on the FusariumID and Fusarium MLST databases. Although FSSC has been previously reported causing root rot in chickpea in USA, Chile, Spain, Cuba, Iran, Poland, Israel, Pakistan and Brazil, to our knowledge this is the first report of root rot in chickpea caused by F. falciforme in Mexico. This is important for chickpea producers and chickpea breeding programs.

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First Report of Fusarium Wilt of Paper Flower (Bougainvillea glabra) Caused by Fusarium oxysporum in Italy

Plant Disease ◽

10.1094/pdis-94-4-0483a ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 94 (4) ◽

pp. 483-483 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

G. Polizzi ◽

D. Aiello ◽

V. Guarnaccia ◽

A. Vitale ◽

G. Perrone ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fusarium Oxysporum ◽

Fusarium Wilt ◽

Disease Incidence ◽

Elongation Factor ◽

Gene Sequences ◽

Single Spore ◽

Potential Threat ◽

First Report ◽

Potted Plants ◽

Bougainvillea Glabra

Paper flower (Bougainvillea glabra Choisy), native to Brazil, is the most widely and intensively cultivated species of bougainvillea as a potted plant in Sicily (Italy). During 2008 and 2009, a wilting of vegetatively produced B. glabra cv. Sanderiana was observed in several nurseries in eastern Sicily (Catania and Messina provinces). Disease incidence was higher (~10 to 30%) in the tree-shaped potted plants (standards). Occasionally, wilting was detected on plants that were not tree shaped. Internally, symptomatic plants showed conspicuous vascular orange discoloration from the crown to the canopy. Diseased crown and stem tissues were surface disinfested for 30 s in 1% NaOCl, rinsed in sterile water, plated on potato dextrose agar (PDA) amended with 100 mg/liter of streptomycin sulfate, and incubated at 25°C. A Fusarium sp. was consistently isolated from affected plant tissue. Colonies with light purple or purple mycelia and violet reverse colony colors developed after 10 days. On carnation leaf agar, single-spore isolates produced microconidia in false heads on short monophialides, macroconidia that were 3-septate with a pedicellate base, and solitary and double-celled or aggregate chlamydospores. A PCR assay was conducted on two representative strains (DISTEF-BGS1 and DISTEF-BGS2) by analyzing sequences of the parzial translation elongation factor alpha gene (TEF-1α) and CaM gene (coding calmodulin protein). The primers used are previously used by O'Donnell et al. (1,2). Calmodulin sequences of BGS1 and BGS2 strains (GenBank Nos. FN645740 and FN645741, respectively) exhibited 99% homology with Fusarium oxysporum strain ITEM 2367 (GenBank No. AJ560774), and have homology of 99.6% between them. TEF-1 gene sequences of BGS1 (GenBank No. FN645739) exhibited an identity of 100% to F. oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici MUCL 22544 GenBank No. EF056785.1) and TEF-1α gene sequences of BGS2 (GenBank No. FN655742) exhibited an identity of 100% to F. oxysporum strain NRRL 45954 (GenBank No. FJ985431.1), whereas the homology between the two strains is 98.5%. Both PCR approaches established the identity of the isolates to the F. oxysporum Schlechtend:Fr (1,2). Pathogenicity tests were performed by placing 1-cm2 plugs of PDA from 10-day-old mycelial cultures near the crown on 40 potted, healthy, 6-month-old cuttings of paper flower. Twenty plants for each isolate were used. The same number of plants served as noninoculated controls. All plants were enclosed for 5 days in plastic bags and placed in a growth chamber at 24 ± 1°C. Plants were then moved to a greenhouse where temperatures ranged from 24 to 26°C. Symptoms identical to those observed in nurseries developed 1 month after inoculation with both strains. Crown and stem orange discoloration was detected in all inoculated plants after 2 months. Control plants remained symptomless. F. oxysporum was consistently reisolated from symptomatic tissues and identified as previously described. To our knowledge, F. oxysporum was previously reported on paper flower in Ghana (3). However, this is the first demonstration of the pathogenicity of F. oxysporum on paper flower and it is the first report in Europe of the disease. The presence of Fusarium wilt in Sicily is a potential threat to paper flower production in nurseries. References: (1) K. O'Donnell et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 95:2044, 1998. (2) K. O'Donnell et al. Mycoscience 41:61, 2000. (3) P. Spaulding. USDA Agric. Handb. 197:1, 1961.

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Fusarium Wilt Race 1 on Lettuce

HortScience ◽

10.21273/hortsci.40.3.529 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 40 (3) ◽

pp. 529-531 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

James D. McCreight ◽

Michael E. Matheron ◽

Barry R. Tickes ◽

Belinda Platts

Keyword(s):

Costa Rica ◽

Fusarium Oxysporum ◽

Fusarium Wilt ◽

Field Test ◽

Race 1 ◽

Production Area ◽

Race 2 ◽

The U.S ◽

Commercial Field ◽

Greenhouse Tests

Three races of Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. lactucae, cause of fusarium wilt of lettuce, are known in Japan, where the pathogen was first observed in 1955. Fusarium wilt first affected commercial U.S. lettuce production in 1990 in Huron, Calif., but did not become a serious problem in the U.S. until 2001 when it reappeared in Huron and appeared in the Yuma, Arizona lettuce production area. Reactions of three fusarium wilt differentials (`Patriot', susceptible to races 1, 2 and 3; `Costa Rica No. 4', resistant to race 1, and susceptible to races 2 and 3; and `Banchu Red Fire', susceptible to races 1 and 3, and resistant to race 2) in a naturally-infected commercial field test and artificially-inoculated greenhouse tests, indicated presence of race 1 in the Yuma lettuce production area. Reactions of these differentials to an isolate from Huron confirmed the presence of race 1 in that area. Consistent with previous results from the U.S. and Japan, `Salinas' and `Salinas 88' were resistant to the Yuma and Huron isolates of race 1, whereas `Vanguard' was highly susceptible. Limited F1 and F2 data indicate that resistance to race 1 in `Costa Rica No. 4' and `Salinas' is recessive. `Calmar' is the likely source of resistance in `Salinas' and `Salinas 88'.

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First Report of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici Race 3 on Tomato in Tennessee

Plant Disease ◽

10.1094/pdis.2001.85.7.802d ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 85 (7) ◽

pp. 802-802 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

S. C. Bost

Keyword(s):

Fusarium Oxysporum ◽

Fusarium Wilt ◽

Root Rot ◽

Vascular Tissue ◽

Light Conditions ◽

Fresh Market ◽

Race 1 ◽

Causal Fungus ◽

Major Producer ◽

Crown And Root Rot

In the summer of 2000, tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) plants in several commercial fields in southeastern and eastern Tennessee exhibited symptoms of Fusarium wilt. All cultivars on which symptoms were observed are classified as resistant to races 1 and 2 of the causal fungus, Fusarium oxysporum Schlechtend.:Fr. f. sp. lycopersici (Sacc.) W.C. Snyder and H.N. Hansen. Race 3 has been reported from several areas (1), but not from Tennessee, a major producer of fresh market tomatoes. F. oxysporum was consistently isolated from discolored vascular tissue on potato dextrose agar (PDA). Pathogenicity and race determination tests for six isolates representing three counties were conducted by inoculating cultivars susceptible to races 1, 2, and 3 (Rutgers); resistant to race 1 (Bradley, Roma VF); resistant to races 1 and 2 (Conquest, Florida 47); or resistant to races 1, 2, and 3 (Floralina). Inoculum suspensions were obtained from 1-week-old cultures grown on PDA. Seedlings were grown in commercial potting mix for 3 weeks. The roots were rinsed and submerged for 30 s in inoculum suspensions (1 × 107 conidia per ml). Seedlings were then transplanted into potting mix in metal flats and placed in a greenhouse. Natural light conditions provided a 12-h photoperiod, and day and night temperatures averaged 29 and 17°C, respectively. Within 4 weeks after inoculation, all isolates caused symptoms of Fusarium wilt in all cultivars except Floralina, indicating that the isolates were race 3. The pathogen was reisolated from the discolored vascular tissue of diseased plants. Among the cultivars most severely affected by all six isolates was Conquest, which is resistant to F. oxysporum f. sp. radicis-lycopersici, the cause of Fusarium crown and root rot. Reference: (1) M. L. Marlatt et al. Plant Dis. 80:1336, 1996.

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