Campylocarpon fasciculare (Nectriaceae, Sordariomycetes); Novel Emergence of Black-Foot Causing Pathogen on Young Grapevines in China

The black-foot disease of grapevine is one of the most destructive diseases in viticulture and it is caused by a complex of soil-borne fungi. This study aimed to identify the species associated with black-foot disease in young grapevines in vineyards of China. Fungal isolates were identified as Campylocarpon fasciculare, based on both morphological and multi-locus phylogenetic analysis of ITS, tef1–α and ß-tubulin sequence data. For the first time in China, we report Campylocarpon fasciculare associated with symptomatic young grapevines. Koch’s postulates were performed on Vitis vinifera cv. Summer Black (SB) in a greenhouse and to confirm the pathogenicity on grapevines. This work improves the knowledge of black-foot disease in Chinese vineyards and will be helpful to growers in their decisions regarding vinicultural practices, planting and disease management.

Notes on Some Interesting Sporocarp-Inhabiting Fungi Isolated from Xylarialean Fungi in Japan

The diversity of sporocarp-inhabiting fungi (SCIF) was examined using six samples of xylarialean fungi from two different forests in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan: a moist forest in the Sakuragawa area and an urban dry forest in the Tsukuba area. These fungi were enumerated using direct observation and dilution plate methods. We obtained 44 isolates, and careful morphological and molecular phylogenetic studies of these isolates revealed that approximately 30% of the operating taxonomic units were undescribed or cryptic species related to known fungi. Although typical mycoparasitic fungi, such as helotialean fungi and Trichoderma spp., were not isolated, the genera Acremonium, Acrodontium, and Simplicillium were detected. Comparisons of SCIF communities between the two forests suggested that the number of isolated species in the Sakuragawa area was lower than that in the Tsukuba area. Soil-borne fungi, such as Aspergillus, Beauveria, Penicillium, and Talaromyces, or polypores/corticioid mushrooms, are frequently detected in the Tsukuba area. Factors affecting SCIF communities in the two forests are discussed. Some noteworthy fungi are briefly described with notes on taxonomy, ecology, and molecular phylogeny.

Biotechnology and Environmental applications of Trichoderma spp.

The genus Trichoderma is multicultural soil-borne fungi found in different ecosystems. They are highly successful colonizers of their habitats. Genus Trichoderma is capable of dealing with various environments such as compost, agricultural soils, rhizosphere, and waste material. Therefore, different strains of Trichoderma have been applied in agriculture, bioremediation, waste management, and biotechnology. Many Trichoderma species act as biological control agents and plant growth promoters. Additionally, the genus Trichoderma is a new fungal source for the production of cyclosporin A as well as various hydrolytic enzymes with industrial importance.

A modified semi-selective medium for isolation and enumeration of Pochonia chlamydosporia (Goddard) Zare & W. Gams

Pochonia chlamydosporia, is one of the most promising biological control agents for managing phytoparasitic nematodes. Isolation and enumeration of viable colonies of P. chlamydosporia from soil and other substrates without contamination is a major limitation, when commonly available nutrient media are used. Development of a suitable selective/semi-selective media by incorporating one or more inhibitors of microbial growth can facilitate isolation of the fungus. In vitro studies were carried out to test the compatibility of commonly used pesticides, namely, metalaxyl, metalaxyl-mancozeb, carbendazim, copper oxychloride, and chlorpyrifos with P. chlamydosporia. The fungus showed relatively high tolerance to higher doses of metalaxyl and carbendazim and was used in the modified medium for better suppression of other soil borne fungi. In the present study, Kerry’s semi-selective medium was modified and evaluated by counting the viable fungal propagules in different substrates (rice, farmyard manure, maize, rice bran, barley, and sorghum) and soil artificially inoculated with the fungus. The results showed that the modified Kerry’s semi-selective medium can effectively be used for isolation and quantification of P. chlamydosporia in routine studies.

COVER CROPS AND SOIL-BORNE FUNGI DANGEROUS TOWARDS THE CULTIVATION OF Daucus carota L.

The principles of good agricultural and horticultural practice, which considers both environmental protection and high yielding of plants, require modern methods of cultivation. Cover crops are used in the cultivation of various plants, including root vegetables such as carrot. The purpose of field and laboratory studies was to determine the effect of selected cover crops on the healthiness of carrot (Daucus carota L.). The field experiment took into consideration cover crops such as spring rye, white mustard, buckwheat, fodder sunflower and two systems of soil tillage, i.e.: tillage before winter (ploughing) + spring tillage (a combined cultivator) and only spring tillage (a combined cultivator). In each experimental treatment, the number and healthiness of carrot seedlings were determined. A laboratory mycological analysis made it possible to determine the qualitative and quantitative composition of fungi infecting the underground parts of carrot. Good emergencies and the healthiness of carrot plants were observed in the objects with rye and white mustard as cover crops. The cultivation system had no significant effect on the proportion of diseased seedlings of carrot. Rye and white mustard were more effective than buckwheat and sunflower in limiting the occurrence of fungi pathogenic towards carrot. Diseased seedlings and roots after harvest of carrot were most frequently colonized by Altenaria alternata, A. chartarum, A. dauci, A. radicina, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, Rhizoctonia solani and Fusarium spp.

Draft genome resource of a novel virulent Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense Race 1 (VCG 0124) strain infecting Cavendish (AAA) group of bananas in India

Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc) is one of the most destructive soil-borne fungi causing Fusarium wilt disease in banana. Generally, Foc race 1 (Foc R1) severely affects most of the banana varieties, except Cavendish bananas (AAA). Here we present the draft genome of an isolate of VCG 0124, a novel virulent Foc R1 strain that severely affects the Cavendish group of bananas isolated from Theni district of Tamil Nadu, India. The genome assembly of Foc R1 comprises 61,471,473 bp with 88 contigs and 18,377 protein-coding regions. The genome contains homologs of Foc race specific secreted in xylem (SIX) genes, SIX1, SIX5, SIX9 and SIX13. The absence of SIX4 and SIX6 and deletion of a peptide in SIX1 virulence factor genes in the Foc R1 (VCG0124) strain might be the contributing factor for strain infecting Cavendish bananas in India.

Disentangling the relative importance of spatio-temporal parameters and host selectivity in shaping AMF communities in temperate forests

Many woody and herbaceous plants in temperate forests cannot establish and survive in the absence of mycorrhizal associations. Here, we address and hierarchize how Glomeromycota, a group of soil-borne fungi, forming a ubiquitous type of mycorrhiza, varied in a temperate forest patch in Germany with time, space, plant hosts but also the proximity to Glomeromycota-associating woody species. The communities of Glomeromycota in our study were non-random. We observed that space had a greater impact on fungal community structure than either time or proximity to Glomeromycota-associating trees but unlike host identity did not alter Glomeromycotan richness. The set of parameters which we addressed has rarely been studied together and we believe that the resulting ranking could ease prioritizing some of them to include in future surveys. Glomeromycota are crucial for the establishment of understory plants in temperate forests making it desirable to further explore how they vary in time and space.