Abstract
Eutypella parasitica R.W. Davidson and R.C. Lorenz is the causative agent of Eutypella canker of maple, a destructive disease of maples in Europe and North America. The fungus E. parasitica infects the trunk through a branch stub or bark wound. Because the fungal community may have an impact on infection and colonization by E. parasitica, the composition of fungi colonizing wood of dead branches of sycamore maple (Acer pseudoplatanus L.) was investigated in five sampling sites in Slovenia. Forty samples from each sampling site were collected between the November 2017 and March 2018 period. Isolations were made from the wood in the outer part of dead branches and from discoloured wood in the trunk that originated from a dead branch. Pure cultures were divided into morphotypes, and one representative culture per morphotype was selected for further molecular identification. From a total of 2700 cultured subsamples, 1744 fungal cultures were obtained, which were grouped into 212 morphotypes. The investigated samples were colonized by a broad spectrum of fungi. The most frequently isolated species were Eutypa maura (Fr.) Sacc., Eutypa sp. Tul. and C. Tul., Fusarium avenaceum (Fr.) Sacc., Neocucurbitaria acerina Wanas., Camporesi, E.B.G. Jones and K.D. Hyde and E. parasitica. In this study, we distinguished species diversity and the fungal community. There were no significant differences in the diversity of fungal species between the five sampling sites, and branch thickness did not prove to be a statistically significant factor in fungal species diversity. Nevertheless, relatively low Jaccard similarity index values suggested possible differences in the fungal communities from different sampling sites. This was confirmed by an analysis of similarities, which showed that the isolated fungal community distinctly differed between the five sampling sites and between the different isolation sources. Eutypella parasitica was isolated from all five investigated sampling sites, although Eutypella cankers were observed in only three sampling sites, indicating the possibility of asymptomatic infection.
Highlights
Sycamore maple (Acer pseudoplatanus L.) is the most common maple and one of the most valuable tree species in Europe [1]
Isolations from the wood of dead branches of young A. pseudoplatanus yielded 1744 fungal cultures, which were grouped into 212 morphotypes
Since there was no significant difference in the fungal community of samples with or without E. parasitica, we assume that E. parasitica did not have a strong impact on the success of tissue colonization with other isolated species
Summary
Sycamore maple (Acer pseudoplatanus L.) is the most common maple and one of the most valuable tree species in Europe [1]. It is a temperate climate tree originating from the mountainous areas of Central Europe. The current distribution of A. pseudoplatanus extends from Turkey and Spain to Ireland and Sweden [2], and it is adapted to a wide range of site conditions [3]. It is characterized by rapid growth and potentially high timber prices [4]. In 2018, A. pseudoplatanus represented 3.14% of the wood stock of Slovenian forests [8]
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