Studies on the mycobiota of blighted solanum dulcamara leaves

Mycobiota of affected bittersweet nightshade (Solanum dulcamara) leaves has been studied. The leaves were collected on the territory of Lomonosov Moscow State University (Vorobyovy gory, Moscow). Sampled leaves were instantly frozen at -75°C for DNA extraction or placed immediately into moist chambers for isolation of fungal cultures. DNA was extracted from the whole leaf. Ribosomal DNA (including ITS1 and ITS2 regions) gene banks were constructed in Escherichia coli by cloning PCR products generated with primer pairs ITS1f and ITS4. Fragments from the cloned inserts were sequenced and compared to known rDNA sequences. Sixteen fungal species were revealed by cloning and isolation of fungal cultures: Alternaria alternata, Aureobasidium pullulans, Boeremia exigua (= Phoma exigua), Botrytis cinerea, Cladosporium cladosporioides, C. herbarum, C. tenuissimum, Colletotrichum acutatum, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, Coniothyrium fuckelii, Fusarium oxysporum, Phoma herbarum, Phytophthora infestans, Thanatephorus cucumeris, Thielavia basicola. Four taxa were identified at the level of genera (Cryptococcus sp., Mycosphaerella sp., Phialophora sp., Phoma sp.). All collected leaf samples contained from 5 to 8 different fungal taxa. Most of the found species were known pathogens of solanaceous plants. Some species could produce toxins or cause human allergies. © 2019, Russian Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.