European Journal of Plant Pathology (2015) 143, 627-639

Mally Dori-Bachash, Liat Avrahami-Moyal, Alex Protasov, Zvi Mendel and Stanley Freeman (2015)
The occurrence and pathogenicity of Geosmithia spp. and common blue-stain fungi associated with pine bark beetles in planted forests in Israel
European Journal of Plant Pathology 143 (4), 627-639
Abstract: Fungi associated with the bark beetles Orthotomicus erosus, Tomicus destruens and Pityogenes calcaratus were sampled in various pine forests throughout Israel. Three ophiostomatoid fungi, Ophiostoma ips, Graphilbum rectangulosporium and Leptographium wingfieldii, and a fourth non-ophiostomatoid fungus, Geosmithia sp. 24, were identified by using morphological characteristics and molecular genetic analyses. O. ips, the most common fungus, was mainly isolated from O. erosus. The least common fungus, G. rectangulosporium, was frequently isolated from all three studied scolytids, while L. wingfieldii was almost exclusively associated with T. destruens. The fourth fungus, Geosmithia sp. 24, was isolated from both O. erosus and P. calcaratus. This is the first time that an association between O. erosus and a Geosmithia sp. has been reported. Our findings also suggest that Geosmithia sp. 24 can be separated into two distinct sub-groups by molecular analyses. Pathogenicity was demonstrated only for L. wingfieldii, both on Aleppo and brutia pine, exclusively under controlled conditions (25 ± 5 °C) but not at elevated temperatures.
(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): Stanley Freeman, Zvi Mendel, Alexey Protasov

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
surveys/sampling/distribution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Leptographium wingfieldii	Pine (Pinus)	Israel
	Ophiostoma ips	Pine (Pinus)	Israel
	Orthotomicus erosus	Pine (Pinus)	Israel
	Tomicus destruens	Pine (Pinus)	Israel
	Pityogenes calcaratus	Pine (Pinus)	Israel