To validate their pathogenic characteristics, 10 healthy two-month-old strawberry seedlings of the Red Face cultivar, planted in sterilized nutrient soil, were inoculated with a 50 mL suspension of conidia (10⁷ conidia/mL), following the procedure detailed by Cai et al. (2021). Utilizing sterile distilled water, ten seedlings were designated as controls. Three replicates of each treatment were carried out within a greenhouse under a 12-hour photoperiod, at 25-28 degrees Celsius and 75% relative humidity. After 15 days' growth, the inoculated seedlings, comprised of 35.71% Plectosphaerella, displayed symptoms akin to the diseased seedlings initially observed in the field. Neither control seedlings nor those inoculated with other fungal species displayed any symptoms. In the context of Koch's postulates, all inoculated and symptomatic seedlings displayed a 100% recovery rate for Plectosphaerella isolates, while no such recovery was observed in any of the control seedlings. The experiments, performed twice, produced similar results. The cause of strawberry wilt was ascertained to be the genus Plectosphaerella based on the findings. Plectosphaerella isolates, when grown on PDA, presented a white to cream color, followed by a gradual shift to salmon pink. The colonies featured a limited number of aerial hyphae and a visibly slimy surface. The colonies' production included a substantial number of hyphal coils, and these were laden with conidiophores. Conidia measured from 456 to 1007 micrometers in length and 111 to 454 micrometers in width (average). With a dimension of 710 256 m, and n=100, the structure presents septate or aseptate characteristics, displaying an ellipsoidal, hyaline, and smooth morphology. The specimens exhibited identical morphological features to those characteristic of Plectosphaerella species. A publication from 1995, attributed to Palm et al., is a significant reference. To identify the species, the ITS region and the D1/D2 domain of the 28S rRNA gene were amplified and sequenced from representative isolates (CM2, CM3, CM4, CM5, and CM6) using the ITS1/ITS4 primer pair for the ITS region and the NL1/NL4 primer pair for the D1/D2 domain, respectively, as described by White et al. (1990) and O'Donnell and Gray (1993). The ITS amplicon sequences (ON629742, ON629743, ON629744, ON629745, ON629746) and D1/D2 domain amplicon sequences (OQ519896, OQ519897, OQ519898, OQ519899, OQ519900), as determined by BLASTn analysis, showed a high degree of homology (99.14% to 99.81%) with P. cucumerina sequences (MW3204631, HQ2390251) housed in the NCBI database. A phylogenetic tree, constructed using UPGMA analysis on multiple loci, demonstrated that the representative isolates belonged to the P. cucumerina group. From our perspective, this is the inaugural global report on P. cucumerina's capacity to induce strawberry wilt. This disease is capable of causing substantial economic losses in strawberry production, thus the formulation and execution of well-considered management strategies are essential.
The perennial herb Pandanus amaryllifolius, also known as pandan, thrives in the landscapes of Indonesia, China, and the Maluku Islands, as documented by Wakte et al. (2009). The plant with aromatic leaves, within the Pandanaceae family, is exclusively this one. Food, medicine, cosmetics, and other industries extensively employ Oriental Vanilla, also recognized as a popular ingredient. A significant area of over 1300 hectares in Hainan province is dedicated to pandan cultivation, making it the foremost intercropped plant among forest trees. deformed wing virus Leaf spot surveys were conducted for three years, starting in 2020, encompassing a detailed evaluation of the phenomenon. A significant portion of the surveyed plants, ranging from 30% to 80%, exhibited diseased leaves, resulting in a 70% incidence rate and 40% yield loss. Mid-November to April witnessed the disease's development, exhibiting its most severe form in environments with low temperatures and humidity. Dark brown, nearly circular lesions arose, preceded by the manifestation of pale green spots. Expanding lesions exhibited greyish-white centers, with yellow rings forming at the transition zone between the affected and unaffected tissue. Hepatic inflammatory activity With a heightened level of humidity, the lesion's central portion contained a scattering of minute black spots. Four distinct sites provided the symptomatic leaf specimens. A 30-second application of 75% ethyl alcohol was used to disinfect the leaf surface, subsequently rinsed three times with sterile distilled water. To study the interface between diseased and healthy tissues, 5 mm x 5 mm tissue samples were taken and deposited onto a medium composed of potato dextrose agar (PDA) with an addition of 100 grams per liter of cefotaxime sodium. Incubation was conducted in a dark chamber at 28 degrees Celsius. Following a two-day incubation period, hyphal tips were meticulously excised from the periphery of expanding colonies and subsequently transferred to fresh PDA plates for the purpose of further purification. Following Koch's postulates, strains' colonies served as inoculants in pathogenicity assays. Sterile needles were used to apply a wounding method (puncturing) or a non-wounding method to fresh and healthy pandan leaves which received upside down inoculation of colonies that were 5 mm in diameter. A sterilized PDA served as the control group. Plants, each in triplicate, were maintained at 28 degrees Celsius for a period of 3 to 5 days. Upon observing leaf symptoms mirroring those present in the field, the fungus was re-isolated. The colonies cultivated on PDA exhibited characteristics consistent with the initial isolate, as reported by Scandiani et al. (2003). A seven-day incubation period resulted in a complete covering of the petri dish with white, petal-shaped growth. A slight concentric, annular bulge was present at the center, accompanied by irregular edges, and later, black acervuli appeared. Within the conidial structure, the fusiform shape, measured between 18116 and 6403 micrometers, was evident. Four septations divided the conidia into five cells. The coloration of the central three cells ranged from brownish-black to olivaceous. The apical cell, appearing colorless, possessed filaments two or three in number, extending a length of 21835 micrometers. Zhang et al. (2021) and Shu et al. (2020) described a caudate cell, lacking color, with a single stalk measuring 5918 meters. Initial identification of the pathogen, using colony and conidia morphology, suggested it belonged to the Pestalotiopsis species. Benjamin and his collaborators published a landmark study in 1961 on. To validate the pathogen's identity, we utilized the universal ITS1/ITS4 primers, alongside the targeted EF1-728F/EF1-986R and Bt2a/Bt2b sequences, as reported in Tian et al. (2018). Upon completion of the PCR process, the sequences of the PCR products (ITS- OQ165166, TEF1- OQ352149, and TUB2- OQ352150) were deposited in the NCBI GenBank repository. According to BLAST analysis, the ITS, TEF1, and TUB2 gene sequences exhibited a perfect 100% match with those of Pestalotiopsis clavispora. The maximum likelihood method served as the analytical approach for the phylogenetic study. Analysis revealed a 99% support for the clustering of LSS112 with Pestalotiopsis clavispora. Pestalotiopsis clavispora was pinpointed as the pathogen following investigation into its morphological and molecular characteristics. According to our findings, this is the first account of Pestalotiopsis clavispora causing pandan leaf spot in China. The diagnosis and control of pandan disease will immediately benefit from this research.
Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), an internationally important cereal crop, is cultivated on a large scale worldwide. Viral diseases inflict substantial damage on the overall wheat yield. Fifteen winter wheat plants, exhibiting both yellowing and stunting symptoms, were procured from wheat fields in Jingjiang, Jiangsu Province during April 2022. Total RNA was extracted from each sample, and subsequent RT-PCR reactions were carried out using two distinct primer pairs for luteoviruses: Lu-F (5'-CCAGTGGTTRTGGTC-3') and Lu-R (5'-GTCTACCTATTTGG-3'), Leu-F (5'-GCTCTAGAATTGTTAATGARTACGGTCG-3') and Leu-R (5'-CACGCGTCN ACCTATTTNGGRTTNTG-3'). Primers Lu-F/Lu-R yielded amplicons of the anticipated size from 10 of the 15 samples, while primers Leu-F/Leu-R produced amplicons of the expected size in 3 of the 15 samples. These amplicons were subsequently cloned into the pDM18-T vector (TaKaRa) to enable sequencing. BLASTn analysis of 10 amplicons (531 bp), amplified using Lu-F/Lu-R primers, highlighted an exceptional degree of identity among them, exhibiting a 99.62% nucleotide sequence similarity to the barley yellow dwarf virus-PAV (BYDV-PAV) isolate GJ1 from Avena sativa in South Korea (LC550014). Using Leu-F/Leu-R primers, three 635-base-pair amplicons were sequenced, revealing a 99.68% nucleotide identity to the equivalent region in a beet western yellows virus (BWYV) isolate from saffron (Crocus sativus) located in China (MG002646). click here Of the 13 virus-positive samples, none demonstrated a co-infection, including both BYDV-PAV and BWYV. Employing BWYV-specific primers (BWYV-F 5'-TGCTCCGGTTTTGACTGGAGTGT-3', BWYV-R 5'-CGTCTACCTATTTTGGGTTGTGG-3'), the amplification process generated a 1409 base pair product, consisting of a portion of the viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase gene and the complete sequence of the coat protein (CP) gene. The sequence, referenced by GenBank accession number (——), is documented. Three BWYV samples yielded identical amplicon sequences, sharing 98.41% nucleotide identity with the BWYV Hs isolate (KC210049), which was obtained from Japanese hop (Humulus scandens) in China, and is referenced as ON924175. The BWYV wheat isolate's predicted coat protein displayed 99.51% nucleotide identity and a complete 100% amino acid sequence match to the Hs isolate of BWYV. The detection of BWYV infection in wheat samples relied on dot-nucleic acid hybridization, utilizing a digoxigenin-labeled cDNA probe against the CP gene; this approach followed the protocol previously reported by Liu et al. (2007). RNA-positive samples were subjected to enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using the BWYV ELISA reagent kit (Catalog No. KS19341, Shanghai Keshun Biotech, Shanghai, China), and these samples were found to be BWYV-positive, indicating the presence of both BWYV nucleic acid and coat protein in the wheat samples.