Citomorphological, cultural, molecular and pathogenical characterization of Rhizoctonia solani Kühn associated with rice in Tocantins, Brazil

In Tocantins State, Northern Brazil, the incidence of Rhizoctonia sheath blight on rice is important, causing significant yield losses on rice crops under irrigation. The main objective of this research was to determine the anastomosis group (AG) of R. solani associated with rice in that area, testing the hypothesis that these isolates are from the AG-1 IA, which is also associated with the soybean leaf blight occurring in wet areas of Northern Brazil. All the four rice isolates were characterized, by hyphal fusion, as AG-1 IA. By cultural characterization, based on basal temperatures for mycelial growth (minimum, optimum and maximum), the rice isolates had growth profile similar to the tester isolates AG-1 IA, AG-1 IB and AG-1 IC. The rice isolates were characterized as autotrophic for thiamine, as well as the AG testers AG-1 IA, IB, IC, AG-4 HGI and the soybean leaf blight isolate SJ-047. The pathogenicity test on rice IRGA-409 and the cross pathogenicity on soybean IAC-18 (susceptible to the leaf blight disease) indicated that, besides causing sheath blight, these rice isolates also cause leaf blight on soybean. Similarly, the soybean isolates SJ-047 was pathogenic to rice. The sequences from the ITS-5.8S region of rDNA from the rice isolates were similar to sequences of AG-1 IA deposited at GenBank® - NCBI. The ITS-rDNA phylogeny indicated a common phylogenetic group formed by these rice isolates, the isolate SJ-047 and the tester AG-1 IA. Thus, based on cytomorphological, cultural, phylogenetics and pathogenic attributes, the hypothesis that the rice isolates of R. solani from Tocantins all belong to the AG-1 IA was confirmed, besides the indication that these isolates can also cause soybean foliar blight.

Patogenicidade cruzada de Ceratobasidium spp. do caquizeiro (Diospyros kaki) e do chá(Camellia sinensis) e reação de cultivares de caqui ao patógeno Cross pathogenicity of Ceratobasidium spp. from kaki (Diospyros kaki) and tea (Camellia sinensis) and reaction of kaki varieties to the pathogen

O fungo Ceratobasidium spp. é o agente causal da doença mal-do-fio ou queima-do-fio em várias plantas frutíferas, em cafeeiro e em chá. Esta doença ocorre com maior freqüência em zonas de alta precipitação e temperaturas elevadas, típicas de regiões de florestas tropicais como a Amazônica e a Mata Atlântica. Em São Paulo, o primeiro relato do mal-do-fio em caquizeiro ocorreu na região de Mogi das Cruzes. O objetivo deste estudo foi testar a patogenicidade cruzada de isolados de Ceratobasidium spp. de caquizeiro e chá para ambas as culturas e também para o cafeeiro e citros. Avaliou-se, também, a reação de oito cultivares de caquizeiro, sob condições controladas, a isolados de Ceratobasidium spp. obtidos da mesma cultura. Constatou-se que os isolados de caquizeiro e de chá, embora filogeneticamente distintos, foram patogênicos para ambas as culturas, além de afetarem cafeeiro e citros. Não foram verificados indícios de reação de resistência aos isolados de Ceratobasidium spp. para as oito cultivares de caquizeiro testadas.<br>The fungus Ceratobasidium spp. causes the white-thread blight disease, which affects several fruit trees, coffee and tea crops. This disease frequently occurs in zones of high precipitation and temperatures, typical of the tropical forest regions such as the Amazon and the Atlantic Forests. In São Paulo State, Brazil, this disease was reported by the first time affecting kaki plants in Mogi das Cruzes county. The objective of this study was to test the cross-pathogenicity of Ceratobasidium spp. isolates from kaki and tea to both host plants and also to coffee and citrus. This study also aimed to determine the reaction of local kaki varieties to Ceratobasidium spp. isolates from kaki under controlled conditions. Although phylogenetically distinct, kaki- and tea-infecting isolates were cross-pathogenic to both hosts, besides infecting coffee and citrus. There was no indication of resistance reaction among the eight kaki varieties tested