Molecular and physiological characterization of Fusarium strains associated with different diseases in date palm

PLoS One. 2021 Jul 22;16(7):e0254170. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0254170. eCollection 2021.

Abstract

Several species of Fusarium cause serious diseases in date palm worldwide. In the present work, 14 SSR markers were used to assess the genetic variation of Fusarium strains isolated from diseased trees in Saudi Arabia. We also studied the effect of different temperatures on mycelial growth of these strains. The pathogenicity of four strains of F. proliferatum was also evaluated on local date palm cultivars. Eleven SSR markers amplified a total of 57 scorable alleles from Fusarium strains. Phylogenetic analysis showed that F. proliferatum strains grouped in one clade with 95% bootstrap value. Within F. proliferatum clade, 14 SSR genotypes were identified, 9 of them were singleton. Four out of the five multi-individual SSR genotypes contained strains isolated from more than one location. Most F. solani strains grouped in one clade with 95% bootstrap value. Overall, the SSR markers previously developed for F. verticillioides and F. oxysporum were very useful in assessing the genetic diversity and confirming the identity of Saudi Fusarium strains. The results from the temperature study showed significant differences in mycelial growth of Fusarium strains at different temperatures tested. The highest average radial growth for Fusarium strains was observed at 25°C, irrespective of species. The four F. proliferatum strains showed significant differences in their pathogenicity on date palm cultivars. It is anticipated that the assessment of genetic diversity, effect of temperature on hyphal growth and pathogenicity of potent pathogenic Fusarium strains recovered from date palm-growing locations in Saudi Arabia can help in effectively controlling these pathogens.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Alleles
  • Fusarium* / genetics
  • Fusarium* / growth & development
  • Fusarium* / pathogenicity
  • Genetic Variation*
  • Genotype*
  • Phoeniceae / genetics
  • Phoeniceae / microbiology*
  • Phylogeny*
  • Plant Diseases* / genetics
  • Plant Diseases* / microbiology

Associated data

  • figshare/10.6084/m9.figshare.14645202.v1

Grants and funding

AAS received a research fund from the Deanship of Scientific Research at King Saud University, Riyadh. The fund is under the research group no. RG-1440-001. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.