Dieback of royal poinciana (Delonix regia) trees induced by Alternaria tenuissima and its impact on photochemical efficiency of photosystem II

Abstract

In Saudi Arabia, poinciana (Delonix regia) trees are afflicted by dieback disease, manifesting symptoms that can lead to complete defoliation and, ultimately, the demise of trees in advanced stages. To investigate the dieback symptoms, samples were collected from branches at the transition zone. Identification of fungal isolates involved the assessment of colony and spore morphology, as well as PCR amplification and sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) gene regions. The predominant fungus isolated was Alternaria tenuissima. Chlorophyll a fluorescence quenching and polyphasic fluorescence induction kinetics were conducted to assess the photochemical and nonphotochemical processes of Photosystem II (PSII) in stem barks affected by dieback. The dieback disease significantly reduced chlorophyll content, potentially hindering PSII performance in terms of maximum photochemical efficiency, quantum yield, electron flux, and photoprotection. These findings suggest that compromised photochemistry and photoprotection render poinciana trees inoculated by dieback less efficient in utilizing light energy and more susceptible to photoinhibition. Additionally, this study implies the use of non-invasive chlorophyll fluorescence techniques as a phenotyping tool for assessing photoprotective and photoinhibitory responses of stems to dieback stress.