European Journal of Plant Pathology (2015) 142, 731-745

Mohammed Masum Ul Haque, Elena Hidalgo, Jorge Martín-García, Ana Isabel De-Lucas and Julio Javier Diez (2015)
Morphological, physiological and molecular characterization of Phytophthora alni isolates from Western Spain
European Journal of Plant Pathology 142 (4), 731-745
Abstract: During extensive surveys for Phytophthora associated with alder mortality in western Spain, isolates were consistently recovered from necrotic bark of the collar and lower stem of Alnus glutinosa. Morphological and molecular characteristics of the selected isolates together with their physiology were examined. Morphologically, the isolates were homothallic and characterized by abundant production of terminal oogonia predominantly with two-celled amphigynous antheridia exhibiting ornamentation. Simple sporangiophores were observed bearing terminal, non-papillate, ellipsoid to ovoid sporangia. Colony growth patterns developed on V8 juice agar (V8A), carrot agar (CA), corn-meal agar (CMA) and potato-dextrose agar (PDA) showed uniform, radial or irregular growth patterns with appressed and/or woolly morphology. Temperature (2 °C, 5 °C, 10 °C, 15 °C, 20 °C, 25 °C, 27 °C, 30 °C and 32 °C), pH (5, 7, 9 and 11) and osmotic potential (-0.6, -1.2, -1.8 and -2.4 MPa) significantly influenced radial mycelial growth of the isolates under laboratory conditions. Molecular analyses including ITS DNA region sequencing and subspecies specific primers amplification confirmed identification of the isolates as Phytophthora alni ssp. alni. Further research is under way to carry out more surveys in order to determine the extent of damage and severity of the disease in different regions of Spain.
(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): Jorge Martín-García, Julio Diez

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

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Phytophthora alni	Alder (Alnus)	Spain (continental)