FIRST REPORT OF PLEUROSTOMA RICHARDSIAE ASSOCIATED WITH GRAPEVINE DECLINE DISEASES OF GRAPEVINE IN TURKEY

Abstract

Pleurostoma richardsiae (Nannfeldt) Reblova & Jaklitsch is a lesser known grapevine trunk fungus that can cause black vascular streaking, brown necrosis and white rot (Halleen et al., 2007). During a survey to determine fungi associated with trunk diseases in young vineyards in Anakara province, trunk samples were collected from vines with decline symptoms. Of the various fungi isolated from internal brown vascular streaks and dark spots around the pith, one isolate wasidentified as P. richardsiae based on morphological characters (Carlucci et al., 2015). Actin and beta-tubulin sequences were generated from our isolate with primer pairs act512/act783 and T1/Bt2b (GenBank accession Nos. KY496707 and KY496708) and isolates had 8% and 94% genetic identity with corresponding sequences from the type of P. richardsiae (CBS 270.33; AY579271 and AY579334). Pathogenicity tests were carried out on green shoots of grapevine cv. Sultana using agar plugs (5 mm) from 10-day-old cultures grown on PDA at 23± 2°C. Controls were inoculated with sterile agar plugs. Four months after inoculation the fungus wasreisolated from symptomatic inoculated shoots, fulfilling Koch’s postulates (Carlucci et al., 2015). Control plants were asymptomatic and P. richardsiae was not recovered. To our knowledge, this is the first report of P. richardsiae associated with trunk diseases of grapevine in Turkey