Fusarium casha sp. nov. and F. curculicola sp. nov. in the Fusarium fujikuroi species complex isolated from Amaranthus cruentus and three weevil species in South Africa
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Date
2021
Authors
Vermeulen, Marcele
Rothmann, Lisa A.
Swart, Wijnand J.
Gryzenhout, Marieka
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
MDPI
Abstract
Trials are currently being conducted in South Africa to establish Amaranthus cruentus as a
new pseudocereal crop. During recent surveys, Fusarium species were associated with weevil damage
in A. cruentus fields. Preliminary studies showed that some of these Fusarium species grouped into
two distinct clades within the F. fujikuroi species complex. The aim of this study was to characterize
these isolates based on the morphology and phylogeny of the translation elongation factor 1 (TEF1 )
gene region, ß-tubulin 2 (ßT) gene region and RNA polymerase II subunit (RPB2), and to determine
if these isolates are pathogenic to A. cruentus. Phylogenetic and morphological studies showed
that these two clades represent two novel species described here as F. casha and F. curculicola. Both
species were shown to have the potential to be pathogenic to A. cruentus during routine greenhouse
inoculation tests. While isolations indicate a possible association between these two species and
weevils, further research is needed to understand this association and the role of weevils in disease
development involving F. casha and F. curculicola in A. cruentus.
Description
Keywords
Amaranthus cruentus, Fusarium casha, Fusarium curculicola, Phytopathogen, Weevils
Citation
Vermeulen, M., Rothman, L.A., Swart, W.J., & Gryzenhout, M. (2021). Fusarium casha sp. nov. and F. curculicola sp. nov. in the Fusarium fujikuroi species complex isolated from Amaranthus cruentus and three weevil species in South Africa, Diversity, 13, 472. https://doi.org/10.3390/d13100472