Australasian Plant Pathology (2008) 37, 154-161

Grace Nakabonge, Treena Burgess, Marieka Gryzenhout, Brenda Wingfield, Michael J. Wingfield and Jolanda Roux (2008)
Population structure of the fungal pathogen Holocryphia eucalypti in Australia and South Africa
Australasian Plant Pathology 37 (2), 154-161
Abstract: Holocryphia eucalypti is a fungal pathogen that causes stem cankers on Eucalyptus species in South Africa and Australia. In South Africa it is considered opportunistic but in Australia it has been associated with occasional but serious disease problems. The aim of this study was to determine the genetic structure of a South African population of H. eucalypti and compare it with three Australian populations of the fungus. Seventy-two isolates from Eucalyptus spp. and clones in South Africa were compared with 30 isolates from E. globulus and 24 isolates from Corymbia calophylla in the south of Western Australia and 23 isolates from E. dunnii in eastern Australia. DNA of these isolates was amplified using eight pairs of microsatellite markers previously developed for H. eucalypti. Nei's gene diversity (H) showed that the eastern Australian population is the most genetically diverse and the Western Australian populations from Corymbia and Eucalyptus are somewhat less diverse. The South African population displayed the lowest genetic diversity. The high genetic diversity in the Australian populations supports the view that H. eucalypti is native to that region and was introduced into South Africa.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Jolanda Roux, Brenda D. Wingfield, Michael J. Wingfield, Treena Burgess, Marieka Gryzenhout

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
molecular biology - genes

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Holocryphia eucalypti	Eucalypt (Eucalyptus)	Australia (South+SE)
	Holocryphia eucalypti	Eucalypt (Eucalyptus)	South Africa
	Holocryphia eucalypti	Eucalypt (Eucalyptus)	Australia (Western)
	Holocryphia eucalypti	Corymbia (crop)	Australia (Western)