Fusarium oxysporum as causal agent of tomato wilt and fruit rot

Abstract

Tomatoes are parasitized by a number of pathogens, including Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici, causal agent of fusarium wilt. Fresh vegetable fruits can be contaminated with various fungi that produce mycotoxins, which is an important issue for human health. The objective of this paper was to isolate, determine, and identify causal organisms of tomato wilt and fruit rot, based on the pathogens morphological and molecular characteristics. Samples of diseased plants showing symptoms of tomato wilt were collected from different localities in the production region of Vojvodina. Fruits with symptoms of fusarium rot were collected from storage and warehouses. The isolation and morphological determination of the fungus were performed on PDA and Czapek?s nutrient media. Isolates from diseased plants growing in field, designated as TFW1-TFW12 and seven isolates from diseased tomato fruits (TFM1-TFM7) were chosen for further investigation. For identification of the fungal isolates, the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was also used. The EF1/EF2 primer pair was used for molecular identification of Fusarium sp. Nine analyzed samples were found to contain DNA fragments 700 bp in size.Patogene gljive roda Fusarium, prouzrokovaci uvenuca biljaka, pojavljuju se i kao paraziti povrca uzrokujuci propadanje korena, prizemnog dela stabla, kao i uvenuce biljaka. Veci broj patogena parazitira paradajz, medju kojima je i Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. Lycopersici, prouzrokovac fuzarioznog uvenuca. Fuzariozna trulez plodova paradajza redovno se javlja u skladistima i moze naneti velike ekonomske gubitke. Cilj ovog rada bio je izolacija, utvrdjivanje i identifikacija prouzrokovaca uvenuca paradajza i trulezi plodova, na osnovu morfoloskih i molekularnih karakteristika patogena. Prikupljeni su uzorci obolelih biljaka sa simptomima uvenuca paradajza iz proizvodnih regiona Vojvodine. Svezi plodovi sa simptomima fuzariozne trulezi prikupljeni su iz razlicitih magacina i skladista. Za izolaciju i morfolosku determinaciju gljive koriscene su PDA i Czapek hranljiva podloga. Za dalja proucavanja odabrano je 12 izolata (TFW1-TFW12) poreklom sa biljaka gajenih u polju i sedam izolata (TFM1-TFM7) dobijenih sa zarazenih plodova iz skladista. Determinacija izolata gljiva obavljena je i pomocu metode, lancane reakcije polimeraze (PCR - Polymerase Chain Reaction). Za molekularnu identifikaciju izolata F. oxysporum koriscen je par prajmera EF1/EF2. U devet ispitivanih uzoraka potvrdjeno je prisustvo DNK fragmenta velicine 700 bp. PR Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. TR31030: Development of new vegetable varieties and hybrids for outdoor growing and greenhouses