Dataset Information

Fusarium nirenbergiae (Fusarium oxysporum Species Complex) Causing the Wilting of Passion Fruit in Italy.

ABSTRACT: Passion fruit (Passiflora edulis Sims.) is an ever-increasing interest crop in Italy because it is mainly cultivated for its edible fruit and, secondly, as an ornamental evergreen climber. During the summer of 2020, two-year-old plants of purple passion fruit in one of the most important expanding production areas of Sicily (southern Italy) showed symptoms of yellowing, wilting, and vascular discoloration. Fusarium-like fungal colonies were consistently yielded from symptomatic crown and stem tissues. Five representative isolates were characterized by a morphological and molecular analysis based on a multilocus phylogeny using RNA polymerase's second largest subunit (RPB2) and translation elongation factor 1-alpha (EF-1α) genes, as Fusarium nirenbergiae (Fusarium oxysporum species complex). Pathogenicity tests conducted on healthy 1-year-old passion fruit cuttings revealed symptoms similar to those observed in the field. To our knowledge, this is the first report of Fusarium wilt on passion fruit caused by Fusarium nirenbergiae. This report focuses on the phytopathological implications of this fungal pathogen, which may represent a future significant threat for the expanding passion fruit production in Italy and Europe.

SUBMITTER: Aiello D

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8538540 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Fusarium nirenbergiae (Fusarium oxysporum Species Complex) Causing the Wilting of Passion Fruit in Italy.

Aiello Dalia D Fiorenza Alberto A Leonardi Giuseppa Rosaria GR Vitale Alessandro A Polizzi Giancarlo G

Plants (Basel, Switzerland) 20210926 10

Passion fruit (Passiflora edulis Sims.) is an ever-increasing interest crop in Italy because it is mainly cultivated for its edible fruit and, secondly, as an ornamental evergreen climber. During the summer of 2020, two-year-old plants of purple passion fruit in one of the most important expanding production areas of Sicily (southern Italy) showed symptoms of yellowing, wilting, and vascular discoloration. Fusarium-like fungal colonies were consistently yielded from symptomatic cro ...[more]

PMID: 34685823

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Project description:The Fusarium oxysporum species complex (FOSC) is a group of soilborne pathogens causing severe disease in more than 100 plant hosts, while individual strains exhibit strong host specificity. Both chromosome transfer and comparative genomics experiments have demonstrated that lineage-specific (LS) chromosomes contribute to the host-specific pathogenicity. However, little is known about the functional importance of genes encoded in these LS chromosomes. Focusing on signaling transduction, this study compared the kinomes of 12 F. oxysporum isolates, including both plant and human pathogens and 1 nonpathogenic biocontrol strain, with 7 additional publicly available ascomycete genomes. Overall, F. oxysporum kinomes are the largest, facilitated in part by the acquisitions of the LS chromosomes. The comparative study identified 99 kinases that are present in almost all examined fungal genomes, forming the core signaling network of ascomycete fungi. Compared to the conserved ascomycete kinome, the expansion of the F. oxysporum kinome occurs in several kinase families such as histidine kinases that are involved in environmental signal sensing and target of rapamycin (TOR) kinase that mediates cellular responses. Comparative kinome analysis suggests a convergent evolution that shapes individual F. oxysporum isolates with an enhanced and unique capacity for environmental perception and associated downstream responses.IMPORTANCE Isolates of Fusarium oxysporum are adapted to survive a wide range of host and nonhost conditions. In addition, F. oxysporum was recently recognized as the top emerging opportunistic fungal pathogen infecting immunocompromised humans. The sensory and response networks of these fungi undoubtedly play a fundamental role in establishing the adaptability of this group. We have examined the kinomes of 12 F. oxysporum isolates and highlighted kinase families that distinguish F. oxysporum from other fungi, as well as different isolates from one another. The amplification of kinases involved in environmental signal relay and regulating downstream cellular responses clearly sets Fusarium apart from other Ascomycetes Although the functions of many of these kinases are still unclear, their specific proliferation highlights them as a result of the evolutionary forces that have shaped this species complex and clearly marks them as targets for exploitation in order to combat disease.

Project description:Chinese yam (Dioscorea polystachya Thunb.) is an important root crop. Wilt caused by Fusarium is among the most important emerging diseases on yams. However, there is currently limited information on the molecular epidemiology of Fusarium causing yam wilt. Here, we investigated wilted yam samples from six regions in South-Central China. A total of 117 Fusarium isolates were obtained from diseased tissues of 37 wilted yam plants. These yam plants belonged to two varieties characterized by white and purple fleshy tubers, respectively. Analyses of ef1-α sequences identified that these 117 Fusarium isolates belonged to 11 putative species, with F. aff. commune being the most common (31.6%), followed by F. aff. cugenangense (29.1%), a potential undescribed species Fusarium aff. sp. (11.1%), F. aff. gossypinum (9.4%), F. aff. fujikuroi (8.5%), F. aff. nirenbergiae (6%), and one isolate each (0.85%) of F. aff. asiaticum, F. aff. curvatum, F. aff. odoratissimum, F. aff. solani, and F. aff. verticillioides. Six of these species were recently described as new species within the Fusarium oxysporum species complex (FOSC). Interestingly, 18 of the 37 yam plants were infected by two or more Fusarium species each and there was evidence for differential Fusarium species distributions based on geographic location and/or yam host variety. Multilocus microsatellite genotyping of the 67 FOSC isolates revealed that isolates of the same species from the same diseased plants often belonged to different genotypes. Interestingly, several FOSC microsatellite genotypes were shared among distinct geographic regions, consistent with long-distance dispersal. However, population genetic analyses revealed significant contributions of geographic separation to the overall genetic variation of FOSC with several pairs of geographic populations showing significant genetic differentiations, consistent with differential geographic distribution of the species within FOSC. The implications of our results to the managements of Fusarium wilt in yams were discussed.

Dataset Information

Fusarium nirenbergiae (Fusarium oxysporum Species Complex) Causing the Wilting of Passion Fruit in Italy.

Publications

<i>Fusarium nirenbergiae</i> (<i>Fusarium oxysporum</i> Species Complex) Causing the Wilting of Passion Fruit in Italy.

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