scholarly journals First Report of Diaporthe cercidis Causing Leaf Blotch of Acer pictum subsp. mono in China

Plant Disease ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu Wan ◽  
Yuan-Zhi Si ◽  
De-Wei Li ◽  
Lin Huang ◽  
Li-Hua Zhu
Keyword(s):  
Yangtze River Basin ◽  
Morphological Characteristics ◽  
Deciduous Tree ◽  
Bayesian Posterior Probability ◽  
Single Spore ◽  
Internal Transcribed Spacer Region ◽  
Individual Tree ◽  
Leaf Blotch ◽  
First Report ◽  
Its Sequence Analysis

Acer pictum subsp. mono (Maxim.) H. Ohashi is a common deciduous tree species that is widely distributed in Northeast and Northern China, including all provinces of the Yangtze River Basin (Liu et al. 2014). A foliar disease, with an incidence of ~90% (19/21 trees), occurred on A. pictum subsp. mono in a community park, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China in July 2019. On average, ~80% of the leaves per individual tree were infected by this disease. The symptoms initially appeared as brown, necrotic lesions at leaf tips, and half the leaf would become dark brown with time, and finally almost all of leaves were infected. Small pieces of leaf tissue (3 to 5 mm2) cut from the lesion margins were surface-sterilized in 75% ethanol for 30 s and 1% NaClO for 90 s, rinsed with sterile H2O three times, and placed on potato dextrose agar (PDA) at 25°C in the dark. The same fungus was isolated from 92% of the samples. The pure cultures were obtained by single-spore isolation. Three representative isolates (WJF1, WJF3 and WJF4) were obtained, and WJF1 was deposited in China’s Forestry Culture Collection Center (CFCC 54806), and WJF3 and WJF4 were deposited at the Nanjing Forestry University (NFU 083 and NFU 084). The culture on PDA was white, with white vigorous aerial mycelia at the edge. Black pycnidia developed on the alfalfa stems at 25°C under a 14/10 h light/dark cycle for 20 days. Conidiophores were hyaline, branched, septate, straight, 16.4–34.7 × 1.5–3.0 μm (n = 30). Conidiogenous cells were 9.0–24.6 × 1.3–2.3 μm (n = 30). Alpha conidia were 7.0 ± 0.6 × 2.2 ± 0.2 μm (n = 30), fusiform, hyaline, smooth and multi-guttulate. Beta conidia were 25.5 ± 4.3 × 1.3 ± 0.1 μm (n = 30), hyaline, smooth and hamate. Morphological characters of all three isolates matched those of Diaporthe spp. (Gomes et al. 2013). DNA of three isolates were extracted and the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS), partial sequences of elongation factor 1-alpha (EF1-α), calmodulin (CAL), beta-tubulin (β-tub) and histone H3 (HIS) genes were amplified with primers ITS1/ITS4 (White et al. 1990), EF1-728F/EF1-986R and CAL228F/CAL737R (Carbone et al. 1999), βt2a/βt2b and CYLH3F/H3-1b (Glass and Donaldson, 1995, Crous et al. 2004), respectively. The sequences of WJF1, WJF3 and WJF4 were deposited in GenBank (WJF1: Accession Nos. MW301339 for ITS, MW363932 to MW363935 for EF1-α, β-tub, HIS, and CAL; WJF3: MW453062 and MW561566 to MW561569; WJF4: MW453063 and MW561570 to MW561573). BLAST results showed that the ITS, EF1-α, β-tub, HIS, and CAL sequences of WJF1 were similar with sequences of Phomopsis liquidambari C.Q. Chang, Z.D. Jiang & P.K. Chi JQ676191 (identity = 540/540; 100%), D. huangshanensis H. Zhou & C.L. Hou MN224671 (identity = 291/292; 99%), D. pescicola Dissan., J.Y. Yan, Xing H. Li & K.D. Hyde MK691230 (identity = 438/438; 100%), D. spinosa Y.S. Guo & G.P. Wang MK726170 (identity = 437/438; 99%), D. cercidis C.M. Tian & Qin Yang MK691114 (identity = 452/452; 100%), respectively. BLAST results of WJF3 and WJF4 are list in Table 1. A maximum likelihood and Bayesian posterior probability analyses using IQtree v. 1.6.8 and Mr. Bayes v. 3.2.6 with the concatenated sequences placed WJF1, WJF3 and WJF4 in the clade of D. cercidis. Based on the five-locus phylogeny and morphology, WJF1, WJF3 and WJF4 were identified as D. cercidis. The pathogenicity of three isolates were tested on potted 3-yr-old seedlings of A. pictum subsp. mono, grown in a greenhouse. Healthy leaves were wounded with a sterile needle and then inoculated with 10 μL of conidial suspensions (106 conidia/mL). Control leaves were treated with sterilized H2O. A total of twelve seedlings were used for the tests, 3 seedlings per treatment, and five leaves were inoculated per seedling. Each plant was covered with a plastic bag after inoculation and sterilized H2O was sprayed into the bag twice/day to maintain humidity and kept in a greenhouse at the day/night temperatures at 25 ± 2°C/16 ± 2°C. In 5 days, all the inoculated leaves had lesions similar to those observed in the field. D. cercidis was reisolated from the lesions of the inoculated leaves and was confirmed based on morphological characteristics and ITS sequence analysis. No symptoms were observed on the control leaves, and no fungus was isolated from them. D. cercidis was previously reported on twigs of Cercis chinensis (Yang et al. 2018) and causing pear shoot canker (Guo et al. 2020). This is the first report of D. cercidis causing leaf blotch on A. pictum subsp. mono. Identification of the pathogen is imperative for diagnosing and controlling this potentially high risk disease on A. pictum subsp. mono and also for the future studies.

scholarly journals First Report of Diaporthe fusicola Causing Leaf Blotch of Osmanthus fragrans in China

Plant Disease ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuan-zhi Si ◽  
Xiao-Ping Guo ◽  
De-Wei Li ◽  
Si Wu ◽  
Li-Hua Zhu
Keyword(s):  
Disease Incidence ◽  
Elongation Factor ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Culture Collection ◽  
Bayesian Posterior Probability ◽  
Single Spore ◽  
Internal Transcribed Spacer Region ◽  
Osmanthus Fragrans ◽  
Leaf Blotch ◽  
First Report

Osmanthus fragrans Lour. is widely distributed in China, Japan, Thailand and India (Zang et al., 2003) and one of the top 10 most well-known flowering plants in China. Since February, 2017, a foliar disease, with a disease incidence of ~60%, occurred on O. fragrans in a community park in Luzhai, Guangxi, China. Symptoms began as round or irregular small yellow spots and became pale brown to gray-brown with time. Small leaf tissues (3 to 4 mm2) cut from lesion margins were surface-sterilized in 75% ethanol for 30 s and 1% NaClO for 90 s before they were rinsed in ddH2O and dried on sterilized filter paper. After drying, the sterilized tissues were plated on potato dextrose agar (PDA) and incubated at 25°C in the dark for 5 days. Five single-spore isolates were obtained and a representative isolate (GH3) was selected and deposited in the China’s Forestry Culture Collection Center. The colony on PDA was white with concentric zonation and white aerial mycelia, but the reverse was yellow. Black pycnidia developed on alfalfa extract + Czapek at 25°C with a 14/10 h light/dark cycle after 17 days. Conidiophores were hyaline, branched, septate, straight to sinuous, 12.4-24 × 1.9-2.5 μm (n = 20). The conidia were fusoid, hyaline, smooth, mostly 2-guttules and measured 7.2 ± 0.7 × 2.3 ± 0.2 μm (n = 50). The morphological characters of pycnidia, conidiophores and conidia of all five isolates matched those of Diaporthe spp. (Gomes et al. 2013). DNA of isolates GH3, GH7 and GH8 was extracted and the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS), partial sequences of elongation factor 1-alpha (EF1-α), calmodulin (CAL), beta-tubulin (β-tub) and histone H3 (HIS) genes were amplified with primers ITS1/ITS4 (White et al. 1990), EF1-728F/EF1-986R and CAL228F/CAL737R (Carbone et al. 1999), βt2a/βt2b and CYLH3F/H3-1b (Glass and Donaldson 1995, Crous et al. 2004), respectively. The sequences of GH3, GH7 and GH8 were deposited in GenBank (GH3: Accession nos. MT499213 for ITS, MT506473 to MT506476 for EF1-α, β-tub, HIS, and CAL; GH7: MT856374 and MT860397 to MT860400; GH8: MT856375 and MT860401 to MT860404). BLAST results showed that the ITS, EF1-α, β-tub, HIS, and CAL sequences of GH3 were highly similar with sequences of Phomopsis sp. [LC168784 (ITS), Identities = 506/506(100%)], Diaporthe fusicola [MK654863 (EF1-α), Identities = 274/275(99%)], D. amygdali [MK570513 (β-tub), Identities = 461/461(100%)], D. fusicola [MK726253 (HIS), Identities = 403/403(100%)] and D. amygdali [KC343263 (CAL), Identities = 428/428(100%)], respectively. A maximum likelihood and Bayesian posterior probability analyses using IQtree v. 1.6.8 and Mr. Bayes v. 3.2.6 with the concatenated sequences placed isolates GH3, GH7 and GH8 in the D. fusicola cluster and separated them from D. eres and D. osmanthi, which were previously reported from Osmanthus spp. (Gomes et al., 2013; Long et al., 2019). Based on the multi-gene phylogeny and morphology, all three isolates were identified as D. fusicola. The pathogenicity of GH3 was tested on 1-yr-old seedlings of O. fragrans. Healthy leaves were wounded with a sterile needle and then inoculated with either 5-mm mycelial plugs cut from the edge of a 5-day-old culture of GH3 or 10 μL of conidial suspensions (106 conidia/mL). Control leaves were treated with PDA plugs or ddH2O. Three plants were used for each treatment. The plants were covered with a plastic bag after inoculation and sterilized H2O was sprayed into the bags twice/day to maintain humidity and kept in a greenhouse at the day/night temperatures at 25 ± 2°C/16 ± 2°C. Lesions appeared 3 days later. No lesions were observed on control leaves. The same fungus was re-isolated from lesions. This is the first report of D. fusicola causing leaf blotch on O. fragrans. These results form the basis for developing effective strategies for monitoring and managing this potential high-risk disease.

scholarly journals First Report of Leaf Spot Caused by Botrytis cinerea on Cardamine hupingshanensis in China

Plant Disease ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Guo ◽  
Jin Chen ◽  
Zhao Hu ◽  
Jie Zhong ◽  
Jun Zi Zhu
Keyword(s):  
Botrytis Cinerea ◽  
Morphological Characteristics ◽  
Gray Mold ◽  
Hunan Province ◽  
Conidial Suspension ◽  
Heat Shock Protein 60 ◽  
Basal Cells ◽  
Single Spore ◽  
Internal Transcribed Spacer Region ◽  
First Report

Cardamine hupingshanensis is a selenium (Se) and cadmium (Cd) hyperaccumulator plant distributed in wetlands along the Wuling Mountains of China (Zhou et al. 2018). In March of 2020, a disease with symptoms similar to gray mold was observed on leaves of C. hupingshanensis in a nursery located in Changsha, Hunan Province, China. Almost 40% of the C. hupingshanensis (200 plants) were infected. Initially, small spots were scattered across the leaf surface or margin. As disease progressed, small spots enlarged to dark brown lesions, with green-gray, conidia containing mold layer under humid conditions. Small leaf pieces were cut from the lesion margins and were sterilized with 70% ethanol for 10 s, 2% NaOCl for 2 min, rinsed with sterilized distilled water for three times, and then placed on potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium at 22°C in the dark. Seven similar colonies were consistently isolated from seven samples and further purified by single-spore isolation. Strains cultured on PDA were initially white, forming gray-white aerial mycelia, then turned gray and produced sclerotia after incubation for 2 weeks, which were brown to blackish, irregular, 0.8 to 3.0 × 1.2 to 3.5 mm (n=50). Conidia were unicellular, globose or oval, colourless, 7.5 to 12.0 × 5.5 to 8.3 μm (n=50). Conidiophores arose singly or in group, straight or flexuous, septate, brownish to light brown, with enlarged basal cells, 12.5 to 22.1 × 120.7 to 310.3 μm. Based on their morphological characteristics in culture, the isolates were putatively identified as Botrytis cinerea (Ellis 1971). Genomic DNA of four representative isolates, HNSMJ-1 to HNSMJ-4, were extracted by CTAB method. The internal transcribed spacer region (ITS), glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase gene (G3PDH), heat-shock protein 60 gene (HSP60), ATP-dependent RNA helicaseDBP7 gene (MS547) and DNA-dependent RNA polymerase subunit II gene (RPB2) were amplified and sequenced using the primers described previously (Aktaruzzaman et al. 2018) (MW820311, MW831620, MW831628, MW831623 and MW831629 for HNSMJ-1; MW314722, MW316616, MW316617, MW316618 and MW316619 for HNSMJ-2; MW820519, MW831621, MW831627, MW831624 and MW831631 for HNSMJ-3; MW820601, MW831622, MW831626, MW831625 and MW831630 for HNSMJ-4). BLAST searches showed 99.43 to 99.90% identity to the corresponding sequences of B. cinerea strains, such as HJ-5 (MF426032.1, MN448500.1, MK791187.1, MH727700.1 and KX867998.1). A combined phylogenetic tree using the ITS, G3PDH, HSP60 and RPB2 sequences was constructed by neighbor-joining method in MEGA 6. It revealed that HNSMJ-1 to HNSMJ-4 clustered in the B. cinerea clade. Pathogenicity tests were performed on healthy pot-grown C. hupingshanensis plants. Leaves were surface-sterilized and sprayed with conidial suspension (106 conidia/ mL), with sterile water served as controls. All plants were kept in growth chamber with 85% humidity at 25℃ following a 16 h day-8 h night cycle. The experiment was repeated twice, with each three replications. After 4 to 7 days, symptoms similar to those observed in the field developed on the inoculated leaves, whereas controls remained healthy. The pathogen was reisolated from symptomatic tissues and identified using molecular methods, confirming Koch’s postulates. B. cinerea has already been reported from China on C. lyrate (Zhang 2006), a different species of C. hupingshanensis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of B. cinerea causing gray mold on C. hupingshanensis in China and worldwide. Based on the widespread damage in the nursery, appropriate control strategies should be adopted. This study provides a basis for studying the epidemic and management of the disease.

scholarly journals First report of Fusarium incarnatum causing fruit rot of litchi in China

Plant Disease ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhaoyin Gao ◽  
Jiaobao Wang ◽  
Zhengke Zhang ◽  
Min Li ◽  
Deqiang Gong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Southern China ◽  
Fusarium Species ◽  
Morphological Characteristics ◽  
Fruit Rot ◽  
Conidial Suspension ◽  
Single Spore ◽  
Internal Transcribed Spacer Region ◽  
First Report ◽  
Litchi Fruit ◽  
His3 Gene

Litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) is an indigenous tropical and subtropical fruit in Southern China with an attractive appearance, delicious taste, and good nutritional value (Jiang et al. 2003). In March 2020, brown rots were observed on nearly ripe litchi fruits (cv. Guihuaxiang) in an orchard of Lingshui county, Hainan province of China (18.615877° N, 109.948871° E). About 5% fruits were symptomatic in the field, and the disease caused postharvest losses during storage. The initial infected fruits had no obvious symptoms on the outer pericarp surfaces, but appeared irregular, brown to black-brown lesions in the inner pericarps around the pedicels. Then lesions expanded and became brown rots. Small tissues (4 mm × 4 mm) of fruit pericarps were cut from symptomatic fruits, surface-sterilized in 1% sodium hypochlorite for 3 min, rinsed in sterilized water three times, plated on potato dextrose agar (PDA) and incubated at 28℃ in the darkness. Morphologically similar colonies were isolated from 85% of 20 samples after 4 days of incubation. Ten isolates were purified using a single-spore isolation method. The isolates grown on PDA had abundant, fluffy, whitish to yellowish aerial mycelia, and the reverse side of the Petri dish was pale brown. Morphological characteristics of conidia were further determined on carnation leaf-piece agar (CLA) (Leslie et al. 2006). Macroconidia were straight to slightly curved, 3- to 5-septates with a foot-shaped basal cell, tapered at the apex, 2.70 to 4.43 µm × 18.63 to 37.58 µm (3.56 ± 0.36 × 28.68 ± 4.34 µm) (n = 100). Microconidia were fusoid to ovoid, 0- to 1-septate, 2.10 to 3.57 µm × 8.18 to 18.20 µm (2.88 ± 0.34 × 11.71 ± 1.97 µm) (n = 100). Chlamydospores on hyphae singly or in chains were globose, subglobose, or ellipsoidal. Based on cultural features and morphological characteristics, the fungus was identified as a Fusarium species (Leslie et al. 2006). To further confirm the pathogen, DNA was extracted from the 7-day-old aerial mycelia of three isolates (LZ-1, LZ-3, and LZ-5) following Chohan et al. (2019). The sequences of the internal transcribed spacer region of rDNA (ITS), translation elongation factor-1 alpha (tef1) gene, and histone H3 (his3) gene were partially amplified using primers ITS1/ITS4, EF1-728F/EF1-986R, and CYLH3F/CYLH3R, respectively (Funnell-Harris et al. 2017). The nucleotide sequences were deposited in GenBank (ITS: 515 bp, MW029882, 533 bp, MW092186, and 465 bp, MW092187; tef1: 292 bp, MW034437, 262 bp, MW159143, and 292 bp, MW159141; his3: 489 bp, MW034438, 477 bp, MW159142, and 474 bp, MW159140). The ITS, tef1, and his3 genes showed 99-100% similarity with the ITS (MH979697), tef1 (MH979698), and his3 (MH979696) genes, respectively of Fusarium incarnatum (TG0520) from muskmelon fruit. The phylogenetic analysis of the tef1 and his3 gene sequences showed that the three isolates clustered with F. incarnatum. Pathogenicity tests were conducted by spraying conidial suspension (1×106 conidia/ml) on wounded young fruits in the orchid. Negative controls were sprayed with sterilized water. Fruits were bagged with polythene bags for 24 hours and then unbagged for 10 days. Each treatment had 30 fruits. The inoculated fruits developed symptoms similar to those observed in the orchard and showed light brown lesions on the outer pericarp surfaces and irregular, brown to black-brown lesions in the inner pericarps, while the fruits of negative control remained symptomless. The same fungus was successfully recovered from symptomatic fruits, and thus, the test for the Koch’s postulates was completed. F. semitectum (synonym: F. incarnatum) (Saha et al. 2005), F. oxysporum (Bashar et al. 2012), and F. moniliforme (Rashid et al. 2015) have been previously reported as pathogens causing litchi fruit rots in India and Bangladesh. To our knowledge, this is the first report of Fusarium incarnatum causing litchi fruit rot in China.

scholarly journals First Report of Cylindrocarpon destructans var. destructans Causing Black Root Rot of Sanqi (Panax notoginseng) in China

Plant Disease ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 98 (1) ◽  
pp. 162-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z. S. Mao ◽  
Y. J. Long ◽  
Y. Y. Zhu ◽  
S. S. Zhu ◽  
X. H. He ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Root Rot ◽  
Morphological Characteristics ◽  
Panax Notoginseng ◽  
Its Sequence ◽  
Single Spore ◽  
Black Root Rot ◽  
First Report ◽  
Cylindrocarpon Destructans ◽  
Its Sequence Analysis ◽  
Four Levels

Sanqi (Panax notoginseng (Burk.) F. H. Chen) is planted on >10,000 ha in China and is a popular Chinese medicinal material (2). Black root rot is a recently identified but worsening problem on Sanqi since 2010 in Wenshan, China. Of the plant tubers examined from 185 ha, 8.5 to 27.4% were black with necrotic lesions. The base of leaves of infected plants had brown, sunken, necrotic lesions, and symptomatic plants had one to three chlorotic leaves. A fungus was isolated consistently from the basal leaves, bulb, and tubers of symptomatic plants. Six single-spore isolates were cultured on potato sucrose agar (PSA) at 25 ± 1°C in the dark. The mycelium of each culture was white initially on PSA, and then became rust-colored. The adaxial surfaces of the plates were black. Conidiophores were 13.6 to 167.3 × 1.4 to 21.8 μm (avg. 68.6 × 2.9 μm), single or with up to four levels of branching and two to three branches (or phialides) per level. The basal branches were often divergent, whereas the terminal branches were usually more appressed. Sporodochia were not present. Microconidia were 0-septate, 4.1 to 9.5 × 2.7 to 4.1 μm (avg. 8.2 × 2.9 μm). Conidia were 1- to 3-septate and occasionally 4-septate. One- to 3-septate conidia were clavate, with a truncate or slightly protruding conidial base, 9.2 to 40.8 × 3.5 to 6.8 μm (avg. 26.7 × 5.2 μm); whereas 4-septate conidia were 32.6 to 50.3 × 5.4 to 6.8 μm (avg. 40.9 × 6.5 μm). Chlamydospores were abundant, golden to brown, single or in chains or clumps, and up to 21.8 μm in diameter. PCR amplification was carried out for one isolate, RR926, using rDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) primer pairs ITS1F and ITS4 (4). Sequencing of the PCR product (GenBank Accession No. KC904953) revealed 99% similarity (99% coverage) with the ITS sequence of Cylindrocarpon destructans var. destructans (AM419065). Phylogenetic analysis (MEGA 4.1) using the neighbor-joining algorithm placed the isolate in a well-supported cluster (>90% bootstrap value based on 1,000 replicates) with AM419065. Therefore, the pathogen was identified as C. destructans (Zinssm.) Scholten var. destructans (teleomorph Ilyonectria radicicola (Gerlach & L. Nilsson) P. Chaverri & C. Salgado) based on morphological characteristics and rDNA-ITS sequence analysis (1,3). Pathogenicity tests of the six isolates were conducted on five 1-year-old and five 3-year-old plants/isolate. The roots of all plants were washed with sterilized water, and then surface-sterilized with 75% ethanol. Inoculum (1 ml of 106 conidia/ml) of each isolate was brushed onto the roots of each plant with a paintbrush. Inoculated plants were planted in pots in a mixture of sterilized quartz sand:vermiculite:pearlite (2:1:1, v/v). The pots were placed under black shadecloth. The roots of five 1-year-old and five 3-year-old plants were brushed similarly with sterilized water as control treatments. After 30 days, symptoms similar to those on the original diseased plants were observed on the roots of all plants inoculated with the six isolates. The roots of non-inoculated plants remained healthy. The experiment was repeated. The same pathogen was re-isolated from the inoculated plants, but no pathogen was isolated from roots of the control plants. C. destructans var. destructans is widely distributed in soils (1), but to our knowledge, this is the first report of this fungus causing black root rot of Sanqi in China. References: (1) P. Charerri et al. Stud. Mycol. 68:57, 2011. (2) C. Y. Hu. New Rural Technol. 2:59, 2013 (in Chinese). (3) K. A. Seifert and P. E. Axelrood. Can. J. Plant Pathol. 20:115, 1998. (4) K. A. Seifert et al. Phytopathology 93:1533, 2003.

scholarly journals First Report of Stemphylium solani as the Causal Agent of a Leaf Spot on Greenhouse Cucumber

Plant Disease ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 97 (2) ◽  
pp. 287-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. J. Vakalounakis ◽  
E. A. Markakis
Keyword(s):  
Leaf Spot ◽  
Natural Infection ◽  
Apical Cell ◽  
Morphological Characteristics ◽  
Leaf Spot Disease ◽  
Pathogenicity Test ◽  
Conidial Suspension ◽  
Single Spore ◽  
Internal Transcribed Spacer Region ◽  
First Report

During the 2011 to 2012 crop season, a severe leaf spot disease of cucumber (Cucumis sativus) cv. Cadiz was noticed on crops in some greenhouses in the Goudouras area, Lasithi, Crete, Greece. Symptoms appeared in late winter, mainly on the leaves of the middle and upper part of the plants. Initially, small necrotic pinpoint lesions with white centers, surrounded by chlorotic halos, 1 to 3 mm in diameter, appeared on the upper leaf surfaces, and these progressively enlarged to spots that could coalesce to form nearly circular lesions up to 2 cm or more in diameter. Stemphylium-like fructifications appeared on necrotic tissue of older lesions. Severely affected leaves became chlorotic and died. No other part of the plant was affected. Small tissue pieces from the edges of lesions were surface disinfected in 0.5% NaClO for 5 min, rinsed in sterile distilled water, plated on acidified potato dextrose agar and incubated at 22 ± 0.5°C with a 12-h photoperiod. Stemphylium sp. was consistently isolated from diseased samples. Colonies showed a typical septate mycelium with the young hyphae subhyaline and gradually became greyish green to dark brown with age. Conidiophores were subhyaline to light brown, 3- to 10-septate, up to 200 μm in length, and 4 to 7 μm in width, with apical cell slightly to distinctly swollen, bearing a single spore at the apex. Conidia were muriform, mostly oblong to ovoid, but occasionally nearly globose, subhyline to variant shades of brown, mostly constricted at the median septum, 22.6 ± 6.22 (11.9 to 36.9) μm in length, and 15.1 ± 2.85 (8.3 to 22.6) μm in width, with 1 to 8 transverse and 0 to 5 longitudinal septa. DNA from a representative single-spore isolate was extracted and the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS) of ribosomal DNA (rDNA) was amplified using the universal primers ITS5 and ITS4. The PCR product was sequenced and deposited in GenBank (Accession No. JX481911). On the basis of morphological characteristics (3) and a BLAST search with 100% identity to the published ITS sequence of a S. solani isolate in GenBank (EF0767501), the fungus was identified as S. solani. Pathogenicity tests were performed by spraying a conidial suspension (105 conidia ml–1) on healthy cucumber (cv. Knossos), melon (C. melo, cv. Galia), watermelon (Citrullus lanatus cv. Crimson sweet), pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo, cv. Rigas), and sponge gourd (Luffa aegyptiaca, local variety) plants, at the 5-true-leaf stage. Disease symptoms appeared on cucumber and melon only, which were similar to those observed under natural infection conditions on cucumber. S. solani was consistently reisolated from artificially infected cucumber and melon tissues, thus confirming Koch's postulates. The pathogenicity test was repeated with similar results. In 1918, a report of a Stemphylium leaf spot of cucumber in Indiana and Ohio was attributed to Stemphylium cucurbitacearum Osner (4), but that pathogen has since been reclassified as Leandria momordicae Rangel (2). That disease was later reported from Florida (1) and net spot was suggested as a common name for that disease. For the disease reported here, we suggest the name Stemphylium leaf spot. This is the first report of a disease of cucumber caused by a species of Stemphylium. References: (1) C. H. Blazquez. Plant Dis. 67:534, 1983. (2) P. Holliday. Page 243 in: A Dictionary of Plant Pathology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 1998. (3) B. S. Kim et al. Plant Pathol. J. 15:348, 1999. (4) G. A. Osner. J. Agric. Res. 13:295, 1918.

scholarly journals First Report of Alternaria Leaf Spot of Banana Caused by Alternaria alternata in the United States

Plant Disease ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 97 (8) ◽  
pp. 1116-1116 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Parkunan ◽  
S. Li ◽  
E. G. Fonsah ◽  
P. Ji
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Alternaria Alternata ◽  
Leaf Spot ◽  
Morphological Characteristics ◽  
The United States ◽  
Its Sequencing ◽  
Single Spore ◽  
First Report ◽  
Alternaria Leaf Spot ◽  
Leaf Spots

Research efforts were initiated in 2003 to identify and introduce banana (Musa spp.) cultivars suitable for production in Georgia (1). Selected cultivars have been evaluated since 2009 in Tifton Banana Garden, Tifton, GA, comprising of cold hardy, short cycle, and ornamental types. In spring and summer of 2012, 7 out of 13 cultivars (African Red, Blue Torres Island, Cacambou, Chinese Cavendish, Novaria, Raja Puri, and Veinte Cohol) showed tiny, oval (0.5 to 1.0 mm long and 0.3 to 0.9 mm wide), light to dark brown spots on the adaxial surface of the leaves. Spots were more concentrated along the midrib than the rest of the leaf and occurred on all except the newly emerged leaves. Leaf spots did not expand much in size, but the numbers approximately doubled during the season. Disease incidences on the seven cultivars ranged from 10 to 63% (10% on Blue Torres Island and 63% on Novaria), with an average of 35% when a total of 52 plants were evaluated. Six cultivars including Belle, Ice Cream, Dwarf Namwah, Kandarian, Praying Hands, and Saba did not show any spots. Tissue from infected leaves of the seven cultivars were surface sterilized with 0.5% NaOCl, plated onto potato dextrose agar (PDA) media and incubated at 25°C in the dark for 5 days. The plates were then incubated at room temperature (23 ± 2°C) under a 12-hour photoperiod for 3 days. Grayish black colonies developed from all the samples, which were further identified as Alternaria spp. based on the dark, brown, obclavate to obpyriform catenulate conidia with longitudinal and transverse septa tapering to a prominent beak attached in chains on a simple and short conidiophore (2). Conidia were 23 to 73 μm long and 15 to 35 μm wide, with a beak length of 5 to 10 μm, and had 3 to 6 transverse and 0 to 5 longitudinal septa. Single spore cultures of four isolates from four different cultivars were obtained and genomic DNA was extracted and the internal transcribed spacer (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2) regions of rDNA (562 bp) were amplified and sequenced with primers ITS1 and ITS4. MegaBLAST analysis of the four sequences showed that they were 100% identical to two Alternaria alternata isolates (GQ916545 and GQ169766). ITS sequence of a representative isolate VCT1FT1 from cv. Veinte Cohol was submitted to GenBank (JX985742). Pathogenicity assay was conducted using 1-month-old banana plants (cv. Veinte Cohol) grown in pots under greenhouse conditions (25 to 27°C). Three plants were spray inoculated with the isolate VCT1FT1 (100 ml suspension per plant containing 105 spores per ml) and incubated under 100% humidity for 2 days and then kept in the greenhouse. Three plants sprayed with water were used as a control. Leaf spots identical to those observed in the field were developed in a week on the inoculated plants but not on the non-inoculated control. The fungus was reisolated from the inoculated plants and the identity was confirmed by morphological characteristics and ITS sequencing. To our knowledge, this is the first report of Alternaria leaf spot caused by A. alternata on banana in the United States. Occurrence of the disease on some banana cultivars in Georgia provides useful information to potential producers, and the cultivars that were observed to be resistant to the disease may be more suitable for production. References: (1) E. G. Fonsah et al. J. Food Distrib. Res. 37:2, 2006. (2) E. G. Simmons. Alternaria: An identification manual. CBS Fungal Biodiversity Center, Utrecht, Netherlands, 2007.

scholarly journals First Report of Fusarium Wilt on Eremophila spp. Caused by Fusarium oxysporum in Italy

Plant Disease ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 94 (12) ◽  
pp. 1509-1509 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Polizzi ◽  
D. Aiello ◽  
V. Guarnaccia ◽  
A. Vitale ◽  
G. Perrone ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fusarium Oxysporum ◽  
Morphological Characteristics ◽  
Gene Sequences ◽  
Single Spore ◽  
First Report ◽  
Potted Plants ◽  
Plastic Bags ◽  
Gene Coding ◽  
Affected Plant ◽  
Tubulin Protein

Eremophila spp. (Myoporaceae family), endemic to Australia, are evergreen shrubs or small trees occurring in arid, semi-arid, tropical, or temperate regions. In Europe, Eremophila spp. are grown for their horticultural appeal. During 2009 and 2010, extensive wilting was observed on 2-month to 1-year-old potted plants of Eremophila laanii F. Muell., E. glabra subsp. carnosa Chinnock, and E. maculata (Ker Gawl.) F. Muell. grown in a commercial nursery near Catania (southern Italy). Internally, symptomatic plants had conspicuous vascular 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 tissues. Colonies with purple mycelia and violet reverse colors developed after 9 days. On carnation leaf agar, single-spore isolates produced microconidia on short monophialides, macroconidia that were three to five septate with a pedicellate base, and solitary and double-celled or aggregated chlamydospores. A PCR assay was conducted on two representative isolates (ITEM 12591 and ITEM 12592) by analyzing sequences of the partial CaM gene (coding calmodulin protein) and benA (coding beta-tubulin protein) using the primers as reported by O'Donnell et al. (1). Calmodulin sequences of ITEM 12951 and ITEM 12952 isolates (GenBank Nos. FR671157 and FR671158) exhibited 99.8 and 99.5% identity with Fusarium oxysporum strain ITEM 2367 (GenBank No. AJ560774), respectively, and had 99.5% homology between them. BenA gene sequences of ITEM 12951 (GenBank No. FR671426) exhibited an identity of 100% to F. oxysporum f. sp. vasinfectum strain CC-612-3 (GenBank No. AY714092.1), and benA gene sequences of ITEM 12952 (GenBank No. FR671427) exhibited an identity of 100% to F. oxysporum f. sp. vasinfectum strain LA 140 (GenBank No. FJ466740.1), whereas the homology between the two strains is 99.5%. Morphological characteristics, as well as CaM and benA sequences, identified the isolates as F. oxysporum Schlechtend:Fr. Pathogenicity tests were performed by placing 1-cm2 plugs of PDA from 9-day-old mycelial cultures near the crown on potted, healthy, 3-month-old cuttings of E. laanii, E. glabra subsp. carnosa, and E. maculata. Twenty plants for each species were inoculated with each isolate. The same number of plants served as noninoculated controls. All plants were enclosed for 4 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 23 to 27°C. Symptoms identical to those observed in the nursery developed 20 days after inoculation with both strains. Crown and stem discoloration was detected in all inoculated plants after 45 days. Wilting was detected on 15% of plants. Control plants remained symptomless. F. oxysporum was consistently reisolated from symptomatic tissues and identified as previously above. To our knowledge, this is the first report of F. oxysporum causing disease of Eremophila spp. worldwide. Reference: (1) K. O'Donnell et al. Mycoscience 41:61, 2000.

scholarly journals First report of Diaporthe ueckerae causing stem canker on soybean (Glycine max L.) in Colombia

Plant Disease ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathali López-Cardona ◽  
YUDY ALEJANDRA GUEVARA ◽  
Lederson Gañán-Betancur ◽  
Carol Viviana Amaya Gomez
Keyword(s):  
Management Strategies ◽  
Elongation Factor ◽  
Morphological Characteristics ◽  
Aerial Mycelium ◽  
Stem Canker ◽  
Growth Stages ◽  
Internal Transcribed Spacer Region ◽  
First Report ◽  
Glycine Max L ◽  
Soybean Plants

In October 2018, soybean plants displaying elongated black to reddish-brown lesions on stems were observed in a field planted to the cv. BRS Serena in the locality of Puerto López (Meta, Colombia), with 20% incidence of diseased plants. Symptomatic stems were collected from five plants, and small pieces (∼5 mm2) were surface sterilized, plated on potato dextrose agar (PDA) and incubated for 2 weeks at 25°C in darkness. Three fungal isolates with similar morphology were obtained, i.e., by subculturing single hyphal tips, and their colonies on PDA were grayish-white, fluffy, with aerial mycelium, dark colored substrate mycelium, and produced circular black stroma. Pycnidia were globose, black, occurred as clusters, embedded in tissue, erumpent at maturity, with an elongated neck, and often had yellowish conidial cirrus extruding from the ostiole. Alpha conidia were observed for all isolates after 30 days growth on sterile soybean stem pieces (5 cm) on water agar, under 25ºC and 12 h light/12h darkness photoperiod. Alpha conidia (n = 50) measured 6.0 – 7.0 µm (6.4 ± 0.4 µm) × 2.0 – 3.0 µm (2.5± 0.4 µm), were aseptate, hyaline, smooth, ellipsoidal, often biguttulate, with subtruncate base. Beta conidia were not observed. Observed morphological characteristics of these isolates were similar to those reported in Diaporthe spp. by Udayanga et al. (2015). DNA from each fungal isolate was used to sequence the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS), and the translation elongation factor 1-α (TEF1) gene, using the primer pairs ITS5/ITS4 (White et al. 1990) and EF1-728F/EF1- 986R (Carbone & Kohn, 1999), respectively. Results from an NCBI-BLASTn, revealed that the ITS sequences of the three isolates (GenBank accessions MW566593 to MW566595) had 98% (581/584 bp) identity with D. miriciae strain BRIP 54736j (NR_147535.1), whereas the TEF1 sequences (GenBank accessions MW597410 to MW597412) had 97 to 100% (330-339/339 bp) identity with D. ueckerae strain FAU656 (KJ590747). The species Diaporthe miriciae R.G. Shivas, S.M. Thomps. & Y.P. Tan, and Diaporthe ueckerae Udayanga & Castl. are synonymous, with the latter taking the nomenclature priority (Gao et al. 2016). According to a multilocus phylogenetic analysis, by maximum likelihood, the three isolates clustered together in a clade with reference type strains of D. ueckerae (Udayanga et al. 2015). Soybean plants cv. BRS Serena (growth stages V3 to V4) were used to verify the pathogenicity of each isolate using a toothpick inoculation method (Mena et al. 2020). A single toothpick colonized by D. ueckerae was inserted directly into the stem of each plant (10 plants per isolate) approximately 1 cm below the first trifoliate node. Noncolonized sterile toothpicks, inserted in 10 soybean plants served as the non-inoculated control. Plants were arbitrarily distributed inside a glasshouse, and incubated at high relative humidity (>90% HR). After 15 days, inoculated plants showed elongated reddish-brown necrosis at the inoculated sites, that were similar to symptoms observed in the field. Non-inoculated control plants were asymptomatic. Fungal cultures recovered from symptomatic stems were morphologically identical to the original isolates. This is the first report of soybean stem canker caused by D. ueckerae in Colombia. Due to the economic importance of this disease elsewhere (Backman et al. 1985; Mena et al. 2020), further research on disease management strategies to mitigate potential crop losses is warranted.

scholarly journals First Report of Ramularia coleosporii causing Leaf Spot on Perilla frutescens in Korea

Plant Disease ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Md Aktaruzzaman ◽  
Tania Afroz ◽  
Hyo-Won Choi ◽  
Byung Sup Kim
Keyword(s):  
Leaf Spot ◽  
Ipomoea Batatas ◽  
Rust Fungus ◽  
Morphological Characteristics ◽  
Perilla Frutescens ◽  
Herbaceous Plant ◽  
Pathogenicity Test ◽  
Conidial Suspension ◽  
Single Spore ◽  
First Report

Perilla (Perilla frutescens var. japonica), a member of the family Labiatae, is an annual herbaceous plant native to Asia. Its fresh leaves are directly consumed and its seeds are used for cooking oil. In July 2018, leaf spots symptoms were observed in an experimental field at Gangneung-Wonju National University, Gangneung, Gangwon province, Korea. Approximately 30% of the perilla plants growing in an area of about 0.1 ha were affected. Small, circular to oval, necrotic spots with yellow borders were scattered across upper leaves. Masses of white spores were observed on the leaf underside. Ten small pieces of tissue were removed from the lesion margins of the lesions, surface disinfected with NaOCl (1% v/v) for 30 s, and then rinsed three times with distilled water for 60 s. The tissue pieces were then placed on potato dextrose agar (PDA) and incubated at 25°C for 7 days. Five single spore isolates were obtained and cultured on PDA. The fungus was slow-growing and produced 30-50 mm diameter, whitish colonies on PDA when incubated at 25ºC for 15 days. Conidia (n= 50) ranged from 5.5 to 21.3 × 3.5 to 5.8 μm, were catenate, in simple or branched chains, ellipsoid-ovoid, fusiform, and old conidia sometimes had 1 to 3 conspicuous hila. Conidiophores (n= 10) were 21.3 to 125.8 × 1.3 to 3.6 μm in size, unbranched, straight or flexuous, and hyaline. The morphological characteristics of five isolates were similar. Morphological characteristics were consistent with those described for Ramularia coleosporii (Braun, 1998). Two representative isolates (PLS 001 & PLS003) were deposited in the Korean Agricultural Culture Collection (KACC48670 & KACC 48671). For molecular identification, a multi-locus sequence analysis was conducted. The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of the rDNA, partial actin (ACT) gene and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) gene were amplified using primer sets ITS1/4, ACT-512F/ACT-783R and gpd1/gpd2, respectively (Videira et al. 2016). Sequences obtained from each of the three loci for isolate PLS001 and PLS003 were deposited in GenBank with accession numbers MH974744, MW470869 (ITS); MW470867, MW470870 (ACT); and MW470868, MW470871 (GAPDH), respectively. Sequences for all three genes exhibited 100% identity with R. coleosporii, GenBank accession nos. GU214692 (ITS), KX287643 (ACT), and 288200 (GAPDH) for both isolates. A multi-locus phylogenetic tree, constructed by the neighbor-joining method with closely related reference sequences downloaded from the GenBank database and these two isolates demonstrated alignment with R. coleosporii. To confirm pathogenicity, 150 mL of a conidial suspension (2 × 105 spores per mL) was sprayed on five, 45 days old perilla plants. An additional five plants, to serve as controls, were sprayed with sterile water. All plants were placed in a humidity chamber (>90% relative humidity) at 25°C for 48 h after inoculation and then placed in a greenhouse at 22/28°C (night/day). After 15 days leaf spot symptoms, similar to the original symptoms, developed on the leaves of the inoculated plants, whereas the control plants remained symptomless. The pathogenicity test was repeated twice with similar results. A fungus was re-isolated from the leaf lesions on the inoculated plants which exhibited the same morphological characteristics as the original isolates, fulfilling Koch’s postulates. R. coleosporii has been reported as a hyperparasite on the rust fungus Coleosporium plumeriae in India & Thailand and also as a pathogen infecting leaves of Campanula rapunculoides in Armenia, Clematis gouriana in Taiwan, Ipomoea batatas in Puerto Rico, and Perilla frutescens var. acuta in China (Baiswar et al. 2015; Farr and Rossman 2021). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of R. coleosporii causing leaf spot on P. frutescens var. japonica in Korea. This disease poses a threat to production and management strategies to minimize leaf spot should be developed.

scholarly journals First Report of Leaf Spot Disease Caused by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides on Chinese Bean Tree in China

Plant Disease ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 97 (1) ◽  
pp. 138-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Z. Fu ◽  
M. Yang ◽  
G. Y. Li ◽  
J. R. Wu ◽  
J. Z. Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Leaf Spot ◽  
Colletotrichum Gloeosporioides ◽  
Disease Incidence ◽  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
Morphological Characteristics ◽  
Leaf Spot Disease ◽  
First Report ◽  
Spot Disease ◽  
Rdna Its ◽  
Its Sequence Analysis

Chinese bean tree, Catalpa fargesii f. duciouxii (Dode) Gilmour, is an ornamental arbor plant. Its roots, leaves, and flowers have long been used for medicinal purposes in China. During July 2010, severe outbreaks of leaf spot disease on this plant occurred in Kunming, Yunnan Province. The disease incidence was greater than 90%. The symptoms on leaves began as dark brown lesions surrounded by chlorotic halos, and later became larger, round or irregular spots with gray to off-white centers surrounded by dark brown margins. Leaf tissues (3 × 3 mm), cut from the margins of lesions, were surface disinfected in 0.1% HgCl2 solution for 3 min, rinsed three times in sterile water, plated on potato dextrose agar (PDA), and incubated at 28°C. The same fungus was consistently isolated from the diseased leaves. Colonies of white-to-dark gray mycelia formed on PDA, and were slightly brown on the underside of the colony. The hyphae were achromatic, branching, septate, and 4.59 (±1.38) μm in diameter on average. Perithecia were brown to black, globose in shape, and 275.9 to 379.3 × 245.3 to 344.8 μm. Asci that formed after 3 to 4 weeks in culture were eight-spored, clavate to cylindrical. The ascospores were fusiform, slightly curved, unicellular and hyaline, and 13.05 to 24.03 × 10.68 to 16.02 μm. PCR amplification was carried out by utilizing universal rDNA-ITS primer pair ITS4/ITS5 (2). Sequencing of the PCR products of DQ1 (GenBank Accession No. JN165746) revealed 99% similarity (100% coverage) with Colletotrichum gloeosporioides isolates (GenBank Accession No. FJ456938.1, No. EU326190.1, No. DQ682572.1, and No. AY423474.1). Phylogenetic analyses (MEGA 4.1) using the neighbor-joining (NJ) algorithm placed the isolate in a well-supported cluster (>90% bootstrap value based on 1,000 replicates) with other C. gloeosporioides isolates. The pathogen was identified as C. gloeosporioides (Penz.) Penz. & Sacc. (teleomorph Glomerella cingulata (Stoneman) Spauld & H. Schrenk) based on the morphological characteristics and rDNA-ITS sequence analysis (1). To confirm pathogenicity, Koch's postulates were performed on detached leaves of C. fargesii f. duciouxii, inoculated with a solution of 1.0 × 106 conidia per ml. Symptoms similar to the original ones started to appear after 10 days, while untreated leaves remained healthy. The inoculation assay used three leaves for untreated and six leaves for treated. The experiments were repeated once. C. gloeosporioides was consistently reisolated from the diseased tissue. C. gloeosporioides is distributed worldwide causing anthracnose on a wide variety of plants (3). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of C. gloeosporioides causing leaf spots on C. fargesii f. duciouxii in China. References: (1) B. C. Sutton. Page 1 in: Colletotrichum: Biology, Pathology and Control. CAB International. Wallingford, UK, 1992. (2) T. J. White et al. Page 315 in: PCR Protocols: A Guide to Methods and Applications. Academic Press, San Diego, 1990. (3) J. Yan et al. Plant Dis. 95:880, 2011.

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