Fusarium rosicola sp. nov. causing vascular wilt on Rosa chinensis

Abstract

Chinese rose (Rosa chinensis) is one of the most popular and widely cultivated flowers worldwide and has extremely high economic and ornamental value. In 2020 wilt disease on R. chinensis was discovered in Pukou District, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China. Fungal isolates were obtained from the stems of the rose. According to morphological characteristics and multilocus phylogenetic analyses with the sequences of the rDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS), translation elongation factor 1-α gene (TEF1-α), and part of the RNA polymerase II gene (RPB2), the isolates YJ1 to YJ4 were determined as a new species of Fusarium solani species complex, and named as Fusarium rosicola sp. nov., which is hereby described and illustrated. Pathogenicity of the isolate YJ1 was verified by Koch's postulates. The fungus was determined as the pathogen causing rose vascular wilt. The isolate YJ1 was labelled with green fluorescent protein (GFP), and roots of R. chinensis were inoculated. The result showed that the fungus infected the vascular tissue of the host plants and caused withering of the above-ground parts, resulting in the death of the whole plant. The GFP-labelled pathogen was reisolated from the stems and foliage, proving that this is a newly emerged systemic disease on R. chinensis in the world.