Morphological and molecular characterization of Phytophthora species associated with root and crown rot of pomegranate in Iran

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to identify the pathogens causing root and crown rot in major pomegranate‐growing areas of Iran. Infected tissue samples were collected from trees with symptoms from 49 pomegranate orchards in four provinces of Iran: Fars, Markazi, Isfahan, and Kohgiluyeh va Boyer‐Ahmad. In total, 23 Phytophthora spp. isolates were obtained, which were identified as P. cryptogea species complex (12 isolates) and P. cinnamomi (11 isolates) based on morphological characters. Molecular confirmation of identification was performed by inference of phylogeny of ITS‐rDNA regions, β‐tubulin gene, and the mitochondrial gene cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1. The results of our phylogenetic analysis confirmed the morphological identification of P. cinnamomi isolates and placed them in Clade 7c of Phytophthora. In addition, the P. cryptogea species complex isolates, despite morphological similarities, were in fact four distinct species including P. cryptogea sensu stricto (two isolates), P. pseudocryptogea (one isolate), P. sp. kelmania (one isolate), and P. erythroseptica (six isolates). This is the first report of pomegranate root and crown rot caused by P. cinnamomi and P. cryptogea species complex.

Identification of the Causal Agent of Brown Leaf Spot on Kiwifruit and Its Sensitivity to Different Active Ingredients of Biological Fungicides

“…Genomic DNA was extracted using the Ezup Column Fungal Genomic DNA Extraction Kit (Sangon Bioengineering Ltd., Shanghai, China). The primers ITS1/ITS4 [49], EF1-728F/EF1-986R [50], and RPB2-5F2/fRPB2-7cR [51,52] were used to amplify the ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, translation elongation factor 1-alpha encoding gene (TEF-1α), and the second largest subunit of RNA polymerase II encoding gene (RPB2) genes, respectively (Table 3). Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification was carried out in a Bio-Rad T100 TM Thermal Cycler (Bio-Rad Laboratories Co., Ltd., Shanghai, China) in a 20 µL reaction mixture comprising 10 µL of 2×Taq PCR StarMix with a loading dye (Sangon, Inc., Shanghai, China), 1 µL of the DNA template, 1 µL of each primer, and 7 µL of ddH 2 O.…”

Phylogeny, Morphology and Pathogenicity of Biscogniauxia mediterranea Causing Charcoal Canker Disease on Quercus brantii in Southern Iran

“…A 6-mm culture plug from actively growing hyphae was placed into the cut surface. Lastly, the inoculated part was wrapped with Parafilm (Ghaderi and Habibi, 2021). Similarly, a plug of sterile PDA medium was covered onto the wound in the control seedlings (as the control treatment).…”