First Report of Phytophthora capsici Causing Wilting and Root and Crown Rot on Capsicum annuum (Bell Pepper) in Ecuador

HomePlant DiseaseVol. 104, No. 7First Report of Phytophthora capsici Causing Wilting and Root and Crown Rot on Capsicum annuum (Bell Pepper) in Ecuador PreviousNext DISEASE NOTES OPENOpen Access licenseFirst Report of Phytophthora capsici Causing Wilting and Root and Crown Rot on Capsicum annuum (Bell Pepper) in EcuadorJefferson Bertin Vélez-Olmedo, Luis Saltos, Liliana Corozo, Bianca Samay Bonfim, Sergio Vélez-Zambrano, Francisco Arteaga, Mario García, and Danilo PinhoJefferson Bertin Vélez-Olmedo†Corresponding author: J. B. Vélez-Olmedo; E-mail Address: jbvelezolmedo@gmail.comhttp://orcid.org/0000-0002-6761-7684Universidad Técnica de Manabí, Departamento de Ciencias Agronómicas, Portoviejo, 130105, EcuadorUniversidade de Brasília, Departamento de Fitopatologia, Brasilia, DF, BrazilSearch for more papers by this author, Luis SaltosUniversidad Técnica de Manabí, Facultad de Ingeniería Agronómica, Lodana, Santa Ana, EcuadorSearch for more papers by this author, Liliana CorozoUniversidad Técnica de Manabí, Departamento de Ciencias Agronómicas, Portoviejo, 130105, EcuadorUniversidad Nacional de Colombia, Sede Palmira, ColombiaSearch for more papers by this author, Bianca Samay Bonfimhttp://orcid.org/0000-0001-9865-6961Universidade de Brasília, Departamento de Fitopatologia, Brasilia, DF, BrazilSearch for more papers by this author, Sergio Vélez-ZambranoUniversidade de Brasília, Departamento de Fitopatologia, Brasilia, DF, BrazilEscuela Superior Politécnica Agropecuaria de Manabí, Carrera de Ingeniería Agrícola, Campus Politécnico El Limón, Calceta, EcuadorSearch for more papers by this author, Francisco ArteagaUniversidad Técnica de Manabí, Departamento de Ciencias Agronómicas, Portoviejo, 130105, EcuadorUniversidad Nacional de Colombia, Sede Palmira, ColombiaSearch for more papers by this author, Mario GarcíaUniversidad Nacional de Colombia, Sede Palmira, ColombiaSearch for more papers by this author, and Danilo Pinhohttp://orcid.org/0000-0003-2624-302XUniversidade de Brasília, Departamento de Fitopatologia, Brasilia, DF, BrazilSearch for more papers by this authorAffiliationsAuthors and Affiliations Jefferson Bertin Vélez-Olmedo1 2 † Luis Saltos3 Liliana Corozo1 4 Bianca Samay Bonfim2 Sergio Vélez-Zambrano2 5 Francisco Arteaga1 4 Mario García4 Danilo Pinho2 1Universidad Técnica de Manabí, Departamento de Ciencias Agronómicas, Portoviejo, 130105, Ecuador 2Universidade de Brasília, Departamento de Fitopatologia, Brasilia, DF, Brazil 3Universidad Técnica de Manabí, Facultad de Ingeniería Agronómica, Lodana, Santa Ana, Ecuador 4Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Sede Palmira, Colombia 5Escuela Superior Politécnica Agropecuaria de Manabí, Carrera de Ingeniería Agrícola, Campus Politécnico El Limón, Calceta, Ecuador Published Online:5 May 2020https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-11-19-2432-PDNAboutSectionsSupplemental ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmailWechat The central Andean region in South America is considered the primary center of diversity of Capsicum species. From August to November 2018 a wilting and root rot of bell pepper plants was observed with an incidence of 10 to 20% in three widely separated commercial fields (1 to 2 ha) in the province of Manabí. Symptomatic plants died within 7 days of initial symptom detection. Four samples of symptomatic plants were collected and root tissue segments of 5 mm disinfested in 70% ethanol for 30 s and 1.5% sodium hypochlorite for 60 s, washed three times with sterile distilled water, and placed on carrot-agar medium (Erwin and Ribeiro 1996) amended with rifampicin (50 mg/liter), ampicillin (50 mg/liter), and pentachloronitrobenzene (100 mg/liter). Phytophthora-like isolates were obtained from the symptomatic Capsicum annuum L. (n = 3) as well as from the wild species of C. chinense (n = 1). Hyphal tipping was performed to obtain a pure culture. All isolates were similar and produced white mycelial colonies with ellipsoid, ovoid, or obpyriform papillate sporangia with long pedicels and globose chlamydospores. Sporangia (n = 50) were 26.0 to 47.0 μm in length and 17.0 to 33.0 μm in width, with papillae 6.5 to 11.0 μm thick and chlamydospores (n = 50) 20.0 × 30.0 μm in diameter. For species identification, partial sequences of the β-tubulin (β-TUB) and cytochrome c oxidase subunit II (COXII) regions were obtained using primers Btub_F1 (Blair et al. 2008) and TUBUR1 (Kroon et al. 2004) for β-TUB and COX2_F and COX2_R (Hudspeth et al. 2000) for COXII. BLASTn searches using the NCBI-GenBank nonredundant nucleotide database retrieved P. capsici Leonian with a high percentage identity (>99.72%) for both markers (accessions nos. LT707574.1 and JN618617.1). Additionally, a Bayesian phylogenetic tree reconstructed using concatenated sequences (COXII and β-TUB) placed the isolates in a clade with other P. capsici specimens (study S24705 deposited in TreeBASE). Based on the morphological and molecular data, the pathogen was identified as P. capsici. All isolates were deposited in the Coleção de Culturas de Fungos Fitopatogênicos of the Universidade de Brasília (accession codes CCUB2167 to CCUB2170) and sequences deposited in GenBank (accession nos. MN456833 to MN456836 and MN456837 to MN456840, corresponding to COXII and β-TUB, respectively). To confirm pathogenicity, each isolate was grown on sterile cooked rice for 15 days at 25 ± 2°C and 200 mg of culture added to autoclaved potting soil (500 g) planted with 15-day-old C. annuum cv. California Wonder seedlings. Noninfested rice grains were used as a negative control. All inoculations were performed in triplicate, and the disease assays were repeated twice. Inoculated plants were maintained at 25 ± 2°C, a relative humidity of 80 to 90%, and with a photoperiod of 12 h. Chlorosis was observed on leaves 5 days after inoculation (DAI), with severe wilt, stem necrosis, and root rot occurring 15 DAI. No symptoms were observed on control seedlings. The pathogen was reisolated from each inoculated plant and identified as P. capsici by sequencing of COXII and β-TUB regions. Although P. capsici is the main species affecting Capsicum spp. worldwide (Erwin and Ribeiro 1996), its occurrence in Ecuador has not yet been recorded (Farr and Rossman 2019). To our knowledge, this is the first report of P. capsici causing wilting and root and crown rot on C. annuum in Ecuador. This etiological information will allow adoption of effective control measures for this disease.The author(s) declare no conflict of interest.References:Blair, J. E., et al. 2008. Fungal Genet. Biol. 45:266. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fgb.2007.10.010 Crossref, ISI, Google ScholarErwin, D. C., and Ribeiro, O. K. 1996. Phytophthora Diseases Worldwide. American Phytopathological Society, St. Paul, MN. Google ScholarFarr, D. F., and Rossman, A. Y. 2019. Fungal Databases, Syst. Mycol. Microbiol. Lab., ARS, USDA. https://nt.ars-grin.gov/fungaldatabases/. Google ScholarHudspeth, D. S., et al. 2000. Mycologia 92:674. https://doi.org/10.1080/00275514.2000.12061208 Crossref, ISI, Google ScholarKroon, L. P. N. M., et al. 2004. Fungal Genet. Biol. 41:766. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fgb.2004.03.007 Crossref, ISI, Google ScholarPermission for sample collection from Ministerio del Ambiente del Ecuador, MAE-DNB-CM-2018-0095.The author(s) declare no conflict of interest.Funding: Funding was provided by Universidad Técnica de Manabí for financing through the program of degree scholarships.DetailsFiguresLiterature CitedRelated Vol. 104, No. 7 July 2020SubscribeISSN:0191-2917e-ISSN:1943-7692 DownloadCaptionA cucumber plant with a light gray lesion of charcoal rot at the soil line and microsclerotia visible on the stem (D. S. Egel et al.). Photo credit: D. S. Egel. Rot and discolored sepals of persimmon fruit caused by Mucor inaequisporus (S.-Y. Lee and H.-Y. Jung). Photo credit: H.-Y. Jung. Metrics Article History Issue Date: 2 Jul 2020Published: 5 May 2020First Look: 26 Feb 2020Accepted: 24 Feb 2020 Pages: 2032-2032 Information© 2020 The American Phytopathological SocietyFundingUniversidad Técnica de Manabí for financing through the program of degree scholarshipsKeywordsbell pepperchlorosisoomycetessoilborne pathogenwiltThe author(s) declare no conflict of interest.Cited byPhytophthora capsici Populations Are Structured by Host, Geography, and Fluopicolide SensitivityCamilo H. Parada-Rojas and Lina M. 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