RESUMEN
A two-year survey was conducted to identify fungi associated with wood decay in a range of tree species and grapevine. Fifty-eight fungal strains isolated from plants of 18 species showing typical wood decay symptoms were characterized by morphological, physiological, and molecular analyses. By 5.8S rRNA gene-ITS sequencing analysis, these isolates were classified into 25 distinct operational taxonomic units, including important phytopathogenic species of the phyla Pezizomycotina and Agaricomycotina, such as Fomitiporia, Inonotus, Phellinus, Inocutis, Fuscoporia, Trametes, Fusarium, Eutypa, Phaeomoniella, Phaeoacremonium, and Pleurostomophora spp. The white rot basidiomycetes Fomitiporia mediterranea (20 isolates, 34.5%) and Inonotus hispidus (6 isolates, 10.3%) were the most prevalent. Pathogenicity tests revealed for the first time that certain fungal species of the genera Fomitiporia, Inonotus, Phellinus, Pleurostomophora, and Fusarium caused wood infection of various tree species in Greece and worldwide. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of F. mediterranea as the causal agent of wood decay in pear, pomegranate, kumquat, and silk tree. This is also the first record of Inonotus hispidus, Phellinus pomaceus, Pleurostomophora richardsiae, and Fusarium solani in apple, almond, avocado, and mulberry tree, respectively, whereas P. richardsiae was associated with wood infection of olive tree for the first time in Greece. Cross pathogenicity tests with F. mediterranea strains originated from grapevine applied on other woody hosts and from olive on grapevine demonstrated partial host specificity of the fungus. The potential of F. mediterranea to transinfect hosts other than those originated, along with the host range extension of the fungus, is discussed.
Asunto(s)
Hongos , Árboles , Vitis/microbiología , Madera , Hongos/fisiología , Grecia , Tallos de la Planta/metabolismo , Tallos de la Planta/microbiología , Árboles/microbiología , Madera/microbiologíaRESUMEN
The present study was carried out to determine the survival, persistence, and infection efficiency of Verticillium dahliae passed through the digestive tract of sheep. Eggplant, turnip, tomato, and pepper plants were artificially inoculated with 32 V. dahliae isolates. At 33 days postinoculation, the disease incidence and severity for eggplant, turnip, tomato, and pepper plants were 99.6, 96.2, 62.9, and 18.0% and 80.1, 49.8, 19.8, and 7.8%, respectively. The infected plant material was used to feed four 1-year-old sheep. Polymerase chain reaction assays revealed the presence of V. dahliae DNA in fecal samples received from animals' rectum on days 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, whereas the pathogen DNA was not detected on 0, 6, and 7 days after feeding. Pathogenicity tests were conducted by transplanting eggplant plants into soil substrate amended with 20% decomposed manure, collected from the four animals fed with the infested forage. At 52 days after transplanting, manure-treated plants exhibited Verticillium wilt symptoms whereas, 2 months later, disease incidence, disease severity, and percentage of positive V. dahliae isolations from stem tissues were 58.3, 30.7, and 48.3%, respectively. Symptoms or positive isolations were not observed in control plants (transplanted in 100% soil substrate). This is the first report of the active role of V. dahliae passed through the digestive system of sheep as effective inoculum for host plants, in relation to the span persistence and transmission via the sheep carrier.