Molecular Characterization of Fusarium proliferatum and F. equiseti of Pisum sativum Seed

Abstract

Backgraund: The presence or absence of fungi on the seed surface is an important aspect that determines the quality of seeds. Since the data on the presence of Fusarium spp. and other seed-borne pathogens on vegetable pea in Serbia are scarce, the aim of this study was to isolate seed-borne pathogens and identify the disease-causing Fusarium spp. from the infected pea seed. Methods: Colony morphology and microscopic characters of isolated Fusarium species were recorded from the cultures grown on PDA and CLA, respectively. In order to confirm the morphological identification at the species level, a single-spore culture of the representative isolates was subjected to genomic DNA extraction and gene amplification using the translational elongation factor 1α (TEF-1α) region. The PCR products were sequenced and the sequences were compared against the GenBank nucleotide database by using the BLAST alignment. Result: Based on morphological and microscopic characteristics, as well as molecular identification by sequencing the TEF gene, the presence of Fusarium equiseti and F. proliferatum was confirmed on the representative isolates Ps18, Ps19 and Ps1, Ps36 obtained from vegetable pea seeds, respectively. According to our knowledge and research, this is the first report of F. equiseti and F. proliferatum on vegetable pea seeds in Serbia.