Host specificity of co-infecting Botryosphaeriaceae on ornamental and forest trees in the Western Balkans

The Botryosphaeriaceae is a diverse family of endophytes and fungal pathogens of mainly woody plants. We considered the host range and distribution of these fungi by sampling diseased ornamental and forest trees and shrubs in Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, spanning a Mediterranean and a Continental climatic region. In total, ten Botryosphaeriaceae species were identified in the Western Balkans and with the exception of Sphaeropsis visci and Phaeobotryon cupressi, which occurred on one host, all the species had a broader host range. Phaeobotryon cupressi was found only in the Mediterranean region and S. visci, Dothiorella sp., Dothiorella sarmentorum and Diplodia seriata were present only in the Continental region. Pathogenicity tests were conducted on a variety of hosts from which the Botryosphaeriaceae species were isolated. These included leaves and/or stems of seedlings of 21 hosts, and cut leaves and/or branches of six hosts. Moreover, stems of seedlings of Chamaecyparis lawsoniana, Cedrus deodara, Picea omorika, Pinus patula and Eucalyptus grandis were inoculated as hosts from which some or all of the Botryosphaeriaceae species used for inoculation were not isolated. Inoculations showed that the majority of these fungi could also co-infect hosts other than those from which they were isolated. The results suggest that most of the species have broad host ranges and can potentially cause disease on a broad range of tree species under certain conditions.Members of Tree Protection Co-operative Programme (TPCP), the University of Pretoria, South Africa and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia (TR37008 and III43007). The first author also wishes to acknowledge partial financial support from European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) Actions Pathway Evaluation in Pest Risk Management In Transport (PERMIT FP1002), ALIEN Challenge (TD1209) and A global network of nurseries as early warning system against alien tree pests (Global Warning FP1401).http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1439-03292019-04-01hj2018Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI)GeneticsMicrobiology and Plant Patholog

Botryosphaeriaceae associated with the die-back of ornamental trees in the Western Balkans

Extensive die-back andmortality of various ornamental trees and shrubs has been observed in parts of the Western Balkans region during the past decade. The disease symptomshave been typical of those caused by pathogens residing in the Botryosphaeriaceae. The aims of this study were to isolate and characterize Botryosphaeriaceae species associated with diseased ornamental trees in Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Isolates were initially characterized based on the DNA sequence data for the internal transcribed spacer rDNA and six major clades were identified. Representative isolates from each clade were further characterized using DNA sequence data for the translation elongation factor 1-alpha, b-tubulin-2 and large subunit rRNA gene regions, as well as the morphology of the asexualmorphs.Ten species of theBotryosphaeriaceae were identified of which eight, i.e., Dothiorella sarmentorum, Neofusicoccum parvum, Botryosphaeria dothidea, Phaeobotryon cupressi, Sphaeropsis visci, Diplodia seriata, D. sapinea and D. mutila were known taxa. The remaining two species could be identified only as Dothiorella spp. Dichomera syn-asexual morphs of D. sapinea, Dothiorella sp. 2 and B. dothidea, aswell as unique morphological characters for a number of the known species are described. Based on host plants and geographic distribution, the majority of Botryosphaeriaceae species found represent new records. The results of this study contribute to our knowledge of the distribution, host associations and impacts of these fungi on trees in urban environments.Tree Protection Co-operative Programme (TPCP), the University of Pretoria (South Africa) and the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Serbia (TR37008).http://link.springer.com/journal/104822017-04-30hb2016Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI)GeneticsMicrobiology and Plant Patholog

Antioksidativna i antimikrobna aktivnost fitogela novije generacije

Antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of a new phyto-gel were studied in this work. The formulated gel is composed of propilene glycol extracts of St. John's worth (H. perforatum L.), comfrey (S. officinale L.), yarrow (A. millefolium L.), horsetail (E. arvense L.) and Na-usniate. The antioxidant activity was determined for the gel and each investigated extract of the gel separately by the DPPH test. The total phenols and flavonoids content was determined spectrophotometrically, for the gel and each investigated extracts. The antimicrobial activity of the gel and each compound separately was tested in vitro on the following microorganisms: Staphylococcus aureus, Micrococcus luteus, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger. The antioxidant activity of the investigated samples decreases in the series: H. perforatum (EC50 = 1.04 mg/mL) > Na-usniate (EC50 = 4.16 mg/mL) > A. millefolium (EC50 = 7.60 mg/mL) > gel (EC50 = 23.47 mg/mL) > S. officinale (EC50 = 30.10 mg/mL) > E. arvense (EC50 = 44.70 mg/mL). The formulated phyto-gel showed the antimicrobial activity. The results suggest that the obtained phyto-gel is a good source of natural antioxidants and antimicrobial agents, and it has potential as an alternative to synthetic products in pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries.U radu je ispitivana antioksidativna i antimikrobna aktivnost fitogela - formulacija gela sa propilen-glikolnim ekstraktima H. perforatum, S. officinale, A. millefolium, E. arvense i Na-usninatom. Primenom DPPH testa određena je antioksidativna aktivnost svih ispitivanih ekstrakata, Na-usninata i gela. Primenom spektrofotometrijskih metoda određen je sadržaj ukupnih fenola i flavonoida u ekstraktima i formulisanom gelu. Antimikrobna aktivnost gela, kao i njegovih pojedinačnih komponenata, je ispitivana in vitro na sledećim mikroorganizmima: Staphylococcus aureus, Micrococcus luteus, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Candida albicans i Aspergillus niger. Antioksidativna aktivnost ispitivanih uzoraka opada u nizu: H. perforatum (EC50=1,04 mg/ml) > Na-usnate (EC50=4,16 mg/ml) > A. millefolium (EC50=7,60 mg/ml) > gel (EC50=23,47 mg/ml) > S. officinale (EC50=30,10 mg/ml) > E. arvense (EC50 44,70 mg/ml). Formulisani fitogel je pokazao i antimikrobnu aktivnost. Dobijeni rezultati pokazuju da ispitivani fitogel predstavlja izvor prirodnih antioksidanasa i antimikrobnih agenasa, sa mogućom primenom u farmaceutsko-kozmetičkoj industriji kao alternativa sintetičkim proizvodima

Worldwide diversity of endophytic fungi and insects associated with dormant tree twigs

International trade in plants and climate change are two of the main factors causing damaging tree pests (i.e. fungi and insects) to spread into new areas. To mitigate these risks, a large-scale assessment of tree-associated fungi and insects is needed. We present records of endophytic fungi and insects in twigs of 17 angiosperm and gymnosperm genera, from 51 locations in 32 countries worldwide. Endophytic fungi were characterized by high-throughput sequencing of 352 samples from 145 tree species in 28 countries. Insects were reared from 227 samples of 109 tree species in 18 countries and sorted into taxonomic orders and feeding guilds. Herbivorous insects were grouped into morphospecies and were identified using molecular and morphological approaches. This dataset reveals the diversity of tree-associated taxa, as it contains 12,721 fungal Amplicon Sequence Variants and 208 herbivorous insect morphospecies, sampled across broad geographic and climatic gradients and for many tree species. This dataset will facilitate applied and fundamental studies on the distribution of fungal endophytes and insects in trees

Genetic uniformity characterizes the invasive spread of Neofusicoccum parvum and Diplodia sapinea in the Western Balkans

In the past decade, trees and shrubs in the Western Balkans region have been damaged by canker and die‐back disease caused by Botryosphaeriaceae species. These pathogens include Neofusicoccum parvum and Diplodia sapinea. In this study, we determine genetic diversity and structure between populations of N. parvum and D. sapinea from Serbia and Montenegro (Western Balkans) using DNA sequence data of the internal transcribed spacer rDNA, translation elongation factor 1‐alpha, β‐tubulin‐2 and microsatellite markers. The relationship of both pathogens was compared for populations from the Continental (CR) and Mediterranean (MR) regions and for isolates of D. sapinea from Cedrus spp. and Pinus spp. Neofusicoccum parvum and D. sapinea were shown to have a low gene and genotypic diversity across the regions and hosts. All genotypes of D. sapinea found on Pinus spp. were also present on Cedrus spp. The CR and MR populations of both species were found to be only slightly separated from one another by a geographical barrier. Low genetic diversity and dominance of N. parvum and D. sapinea on non‐native trees suggests that these species have most likely been introduced into Western Balkans, possibly through the movement of infected plants.Members of Tree Protection Co‐operative Programme (TPCP), the University of Pretoria (South Africa) and the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Serbia (TR37008 and III43007). The first author also wishes to acknowledge partial financial support from European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) Actions Pathway Evaluation and Pest Risk Management In Transport (PERMIT FP1002, Grants No. FP1002‐180612‐018564 and FP1002‐080714‐044952), ALIEN Challenge (TD1209, Grant No. TD1209‐020315‐053196) and A global network of nurseries as early warning system against alien tree pests (Global Warning FP1401, Grant No. FP1401‐100715‐062902).http://wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/efp2020-02-01hj2019BiochemistryForestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI)GeneticsMicrobiology and Plant Patholog

Variations in the headspace volatile profiles of three different Achillea coarctata Poir. (Asteraceae) populations

This study presents a detailed compositional analysis of six Achillea coarctata Poir. samples obtained by static headspace method and interrelationships based on the volatiles profiles from different plant parts, three different populations and geological substrates, using multivariate statistical analysis. The most dominant components were mutual for aerial vegetative plant parts and inflorescences collected at the same locality. Main compounds differed in percentages for two localities (values in parenthesis refer to aerial plant parts and inflorescences, respectively): 1) 1,8-cineole (40.7%; 39.9%), β-pinene (29.6%; 36.4%) and α-pinene (7.2%; 3.3%); 2) 1,8-cineole (51.8%; 53.3%), β-pinene (18.0%; 28.2%) and α-pinene (5.6%; 4.5%). the most abundant constituents identified in third locality were 1,8-cineole (37.2%; 35.6%), β-pinene (18.6%; 11.7%) and ocymene (11.6%; 11,7%). Samples collected on different geological substrates are qualitative and quantitative various according to agglomerative hierarchical clustering analysis and can be grouped in two clades and two subclades