First report of black-foot disease, caused by Cylindrocarpon destructans, on ornamental marigold (Tagetes minuta) in Iran

Abstract

The ornamental Tagetes minuta is a herbaceous plant of the Asteraceae family. T. minuta, a species native to southern South America, is used as a condiment, as a refreshing beverage, and for medicinal purposes. In 2011, disease symptoms of yellowing, root and foot rot, drying of leaves, and plant death were observed in an ornamental marigold (T. minuta) greenhouse in Fars province. The infected plants were collected and transferred to a laboratory. Samples were washed, cut into small pieces, surface disinfested with a 0.5% NaClO solution, and cultured on Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA) acidified to pH 4.5 with 0.5% lactic acid. Based on morphological characters, the causal agent was identified as Cylindrocarpon destructans. To confirm morphological identification, DNA was extracted from isolates using a genomic DNA purification Kit. The region of internal transcribed spacers 1, 2, and 5.8S genes of rDNA were amplified using the ITS4 and ITS1 universal primer set. Fragments of 600 bp were recovered from PCR, purified, sequenced, edited, and deposited in GenBank. The isolates had a 100% identity with all the compared C. destructans sequences. The pathogenicity tests were done with a suspension of 1 × 106 conidia per ml homogenised in sterile water. The symptoms on inoculated plants were similar to those previously observed and the fungus was reisolated from the inoculated plants. This is the first documented report of C. de-structans as a cause of root and foot rot disease on T. minuta in Iran.

Keywords

• black-foot disease
• Cylindrocarpon destructans
• Iran
• molecular identification
• Tagetes minuta