Abstract
Andean blackberry (Rubus glaucus Benth) plants from the provinces of Tungurahua and Bolivar (Ecuador) started showing symptoms of black foot disease since 2010. Wilted plants were sampled in both provinces from 2014 to 2017, and fungal isolates were obtained from tissues surrounding necrotic lesions in the cortex of the roots and crown. Based on morphological characteristics and DNA sequencing of histone 3 and the translation elongation factor 1α gene, isolates were identified as one of seven species, Ilyonectria vredehoekensis, Ilyonectria robusta, Ilyonectria venezuelensis, Ilyonectria europaea, Dactylonectria torresensis, or Dactylonectria novozelandica. Pathogenicity tests with isolates from each species, excluding I. europaea and D. novozelandica whose isolates were lost due to contamination, confirmed that the four species tested can produce black foot disease symptoms in Andean blackberry. This is the first report of Dactylonectria and Ilyonectria species causing black foot disease of Andean blackberry.
Highlights
Species with Cylindrocarpon-like anamorphs include several taxa that are common soilborne plant pathogens; these fungi usually form chlamydospores that allow them to survive for long dormancy periods and have a wide host range that includes woody and herbaceous plants in which they cause severe damage [1,2]
Diversity 2019, 11, 218 anamorphs have been clarified through multilocus phylogenetic analyses, which granted the description of new genera, including Dactylonectria and Ilyonectria, and new species within these genera [8,9,10]
The lack of molecular information on the isolates described in the first report of black foot disease of Andean blackberry makes it impossible to confirm their classification under the current taxonomy
Summary
Species with Cylindrocarpon-like anamorphs include several taxa that are common soilborne plant pathogens; these fungi usually form chlamydospores that allow them to survive for long dormancy periods and have a wide host range that includes woody and herbaceous plants in which they cause severe damage [1,2]. Among this group of fungi, Ilyonectria and Dactylonectria species are described as the causal agents of black foot of grapevines (Vitis spp.) [1,3,4], a disease that has been extensively studied since 1961 when it was first described in France [5]. The lack of molecular information on the isolates described in the first report of black foot disease of Andean blackberry makes it impossible to confirm their classification under the current taxonomy
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