RESUMEN
Ceratocystis wilt disease has caused significant mortality in duku (Lansium domesticum) since 2014 and has now spread to all districts in South Sumatra, Indonesia. Recently, 16 isolates from duku representing populations from various districts in South Sumatra were isolated. Analysis for the morphological characteristic of the isolate showed that the population has a uniform morphology. Genetic analysis based on internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and ß-tubulin sequences verified that the population has being dominated by the ITS5 haplotype of Ceratocystis fimbriata and a new ITS group, the ITS7b haplotype that was localized in Musi Banyuasin. Both haplotypes were highly pathogenic to duku. Inoculation tests on various forest and agroforestry plant hosts showed that both haplotypes were highly pathogenic to Acacia mangium, moderately pathogenic to Acacia carsicarpa, Eucalyptus urophylla, and Melaleuca cajuputi, but weakly pathogenic to Dyera costulata, Hevea brasiliensis, and Alstonia scholaris. Therefore, this pathogen becomes a serious threat to Indonesia's biodiversity due to its ability to infect forest and agroforestry plants, especially the indigenous ones.
RESUMEN
Bark canker, wood discoloration, and wilting of the duku tree (Lansium domesticum) along the watershed of Komering River, South Sumatra Province, Indonesia first appeared in 2013. The incidence of tree mortality was 100% within 3 years in badly infected orchards. A Ceratocystis species was consistently isolated from the diseased tissue and identified by morphological and sequence analyses of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and ß-tubulin regions. Pathogenicity tests were conducted and Koch's postulates were confirmed. The fungus was also pathogenic on Acacia mangium, but was less pathogenic on mango. Partial flooding was unfavourable for disease development. Two described isolates (WRC and WBC) had minor variation in morphology and DNA sequences, but the former exhibited a more pathogenic on both duku and acacia. The ITS phylogenies grouped the most pathogenic isolate (WRC) causing wilting of the duku tree within the aggressive and widely distributed ITS5 haplotype of C. fimbriata.
RESUMEN
Treatment with hypovirulent binucleate Rhizoctonia (HBNR) isolates induced systemic resistance against anthracnose infected by Colletotrichum orbiculare in cucumber, as there were no direct interaction between HBNR and C. orbiculare. This is because of the different distances between HBNR and C. orbiculare, where the root was treated with HBNR isolate and C. orbiculare was challenged and inoculated in leaves or first true leaves were treated with HBNR isolate and C. orbiculare was challenged and inoculated in second true leaves. The use of barley grain inocula and culture filtrates of HBNR significantly reduced the lesion diameter compared to the control (p = 0.05). The total lesion diameter reduction by applying barley grain inoculum of HBNR L2, W1, W7, and Rhv7 was 28%, 44%, 39%, and 40%, respectively. Similar results was also observed in treatment using culture filtrate, and the reduction of total lesion diameter by culture filtrate of HBNR L2, W1, W7, and Rhv7 was 45%, 46%, 42%, and 48%, respectively. When cucumber root was treated with culture filtrates of HBNR, the lignin was enhanced at the pathogen penetration, which is spread along the epidermis tissue of cucumber hypocotyls. Peroxidase activity in hypocotyls in the treated cucumber plant with culture filtrates of HBNR significantly increased before and after inoculation of pathogens as compared to the control. Significant enhancement was also observed in the fast-moving anodic peroxidase isozymes in the treated plants with culture filtrates of HBNR. The results showed the elicitor(s) contained in culture filtrates in HBNR. The lignin deposition as well as the peroxidase activity is an important step to prevent systemically immunised plants from pathogen infection.
RESUMEN
Fusarium spp., which are common inhabitants of oil palm leaves, are weak pathogens of common spear rot (CSR). We investigated the influence of osmotic stress on the growth, virulence, and activity of cell wall-degrading enzymes of CSR fungi, using potato dextrose agar (PDA) supplemented with KCl or sucrose (hyperosmotic medium). Hyperosmotic stress significantly inhibited mycelial growth, but growth rapidly recovered when mycelia were transferred to control medium. When inoculated into oil palm spear leaflets, Fusarium sp., and F. incarnatum precultured on 1.0 and 1.5 M KCl-hyperosmotic medium induced lesions that were two to four times larger than those in non-stressed cultures, suggesting enhanced virulence of the weak pathogens. Lesion size was not greatly affected in hyperosmotic cultures of moderately virulent F. sacchari. No activity of pectin lyase was detected in liquid cultures of the Fusarium isolates. All isolates except F. incarnatum BT48 secreted polygalacturonase (PG), which was active in both liquid cultures and inoculated leaves. Significantly increased PG activity (5-32-fold) was observed on leaves inoculated with hyperosmotic cultures of Fusarium sp. and F. sacchari. These findings suggest that Fusarium sp., F. incarnatum, and F. sacchari exhibit an adaptive physiological plasticity to hyperosmotic stress that results in enhanced virulence.
