Rapid Identification of Diaporthe citri by Gene Sequence Analysis

Abstract

Citrus melanoses caused by <i>Diaporthe citri</i>, has been one of the serious diseases in many citrus orchards of Jeju Island. To protect melanose in citrus farms, a fast and exact diagnosis method is necessary. In this study, diseased leaves and dieback twigs were collected from a total of 49 farms within March to April in 2022. A total of 465 fungal isolates were obtained from a total of 358 isolated plant samples. Among these fungal isolates, 40 representatives of <i>D. citrii</i> isolates which were isolated from 22 twigs and 18 leaves on 23 farms were found based on cultural characteristics on potato dextrose agar and conidial morphology. Additionally, the molecular assay was carried out and compared with those by morphological diagnosis. All isolates were identified as <i>D. citrii</i> by analyzing the sequences at the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) rDNA region using primers of ITS1/ITS4 or at β-tubulin using primer Btdcitri-F/R. Therefore, based on the present study, where the results of morphological identification of conidial type were consistent with DNA sequence analysis of certain gene, choosing a suitable method for a fast diagnosis of citrus melanose was suggested.