APS Homepage
    Back

2014 APS Annual Meeting Abstract

 

Poster Session: Ecology and Epidemiology - Pathogen Dispersal

466-P

Distribution of ectotrophic root-infecting fungi associated with declining ultradwarf bermudagrass putting greens.
P. L. VINES (1), M. Tomaso-Peterson (1), T. W. Allen (2), C. Balbalian (1), B. R. Stewart (1)
(1) Mississippi State Univ, Mississippi State, MS, U.S.A.; (2) Delta Research and Extension Center, Stoneville, MS, U.S.A.

Samples of ultradwarf bermudagrasses, exhibiting symptoms of decline during late summer and early fall months, were collected in 2012 and 2013 throughout the southern region of the United States. Root systems appeared blackened, rotted, and diminutive in size and were frequently colonized with dark, runner hyphae that are characteristic signs of ectotrophic root-infecting (ERI) fungi. Colonized roots were cut into 1-cm sections, surface disinfested with a 0.6% NaOCl solution, rinsed three consecutive times with sterile-distilled water, plated on modified potato dextrose agar (PDA), and incubated for 7 days at room temperature under 24 hour fluorescent light. Hyphal tips were transferred to PDA, resulting in sterile, pure cultures, from which genomic DNA was extracted. Multilocus sequence analyses revealed novel phylogenetic placement of MSU-ERI isolates within the Magnaporthaceae and Phaeosphaeriaceae families of the Ascomycota. Geographical distribution assessments demonstrated the presence of a single ERI fungal species at multiple locations throughout the southern United States. Additional assessments confirmed the underlying hypothesis that multiple ERI fungal species are present at a given geographical location.

© 2014 by The American Phytopathological Society. All rights reserved.