First Report of Powdery Mildew of American Ginseng Caused by Erysiphe heraclei in Tennessee and the United States

Abstract

American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L.), native to the forested regions of northeast U.S is a perennial herb valued as traditional Chinese medicine. It has been cultivated in North America for several decades due to high global demand. Powdery mildew symptoms were observed on 8-year-old cultivated American ginseng leaves (Fig. 1a, b) on a residential property in Rutherford Co., TN in May 2022. Disease severity was 40 to 60% of leaf area and incidence was 33% out of 30 plants. Affected plants exhibited white fungal colonies on the leaves. Under severe infection, the leaves were chlorotic and senescing. Microscopic observation revealed masses of conidia and mycelia on symptomatic tissue. Conidiophores were cylindrical and unbranched (2- or, rarely, 3-septate), measuring 66.7 ± 12.5 μm (n=78) with a range of 24.3 to 90.7 μm. Conidia produced singly or in pseudo-chains (Fig. 1c). Conidiophore foot cells measured 23.2 ± 4.3 μm long (n=54) and the width at the foot cell septum was 5.1 ± 0.6 μm (n=54). Hyphal width was 3.3 ± 0.6 um (n=59). Fresh vacuolated spores were oblong-elliptical to oblong (Fig. 1d) and measured 31.5 × 11.9 μm (n=55), lacked fibrosin bodies. The length-to-width ratio of conidia was 1.9 to 4.4 (avg. 2.7). Superficial mycelia and germinating spores displayed lobed appressorium (Fig. 1e). Detached spore surfaces were wrinkled (Fig. 1f). Morphological characteristics of the fungus matched the description of Erysiphe heraclei (Braun and Cook, 2012) and Erysiphe sp. (Cho et al. 2016) except for conidiophore length, which was shorter in our sample. To confirm pathogen identity, total DNA was extracted directly from single spore cultures (isolates FBG1668 and FBG1728). The ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region was amplified using ITS4 and ITS5 primers (White et al. 1990). The sequences (GenBank accession nos. OP458196 and OP469994) showed 100% identity and 100% query coverage to E. heraclei (KY073878 and LC270862). The sequences were also 100% identical to the ITS sequences of E. betae and E. malvae. Solano-Báez et al. (2022) noted that the species in the E. malvae/E. heraclei/E. betae species complex are phylogenetically undistinguishable. E. betae and E. malvae infect plants in Chenopodiaceae and Malvaceae, respectively (Braun and Cook, 2012). However, E. heraclei has been reported to infect plants in Apiaceae. American ginseng belongs to Araliaceae which is a close family to Apiaceae and both belong to Apiales. Based on morphological and molecular identification, both isolates were identified as E. heraclei. Pathogenicity was confirmed by inoculating the adaxial leaf surface of six 2-year-old American ginseng plants. Spores from detached symptomatic leaves were tapped onto the adaxial surface of healthy leaves. Six non-inoculated and inoculated plants were maintained in a greenhouse at 21 to 23°C, 70%RH, with 16-h photoperiod. After 2 weeks, powdery mildew symptoms developed on the inoculated plants. The microscopy and molecular analysis confirmed infection and all control plants remained asymptomatic. Cho et al. (2016) reported powdery mildew on Korean ginseng (P. ginseng C.A. Mey) caused by Erysiphe sp., and Sholberg et al. (1996) reported Erysiphe sp. on P. quinquefolius in Canada, but to our knowledge, this is the first report of powdery mildew caused by E. heraclei on American ginseng in Tennessee and the U.S. Identification and timely management of powdery mildew on American ginseng will be necessary to control this disease in affected growing sites.