Journal of Plant Pathology (2015), 97 (3), 539-540 Edizioni ETS Pisa, 2015 539
Short Communication
SPORISORIUM SMUT PATHOGENS IN THE SULTANATE OF OMAN: THREE NEW REPORTS
M.L. Deadman1, I.H. Al Mahmooli1, J.F. Klimek2 and M.C. Aime2 1 Department
of Crop Sciences, College of Agricultural and Marine Sciences, P O Box 34, Sultan Qaboos University, Al Khod 123, Sultanate of Oman 2 Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Purdue University, 915 West State St., West Lafayette, IN 47907-2054, USA
SUMMARY
Smut teliospores were isolated from several species of infected grasses in the Sultanate of Oman. Pathogen identity was confirmed by nuclear ribosomal large subunit DNA sequencing and analysis and consequently three new national reports of smut pathogens of the genus Sporisorium isolated from sorghum (S. sorghi), sugarcane (S. scitamineum) and the native grass Dichanthium foveolatum (S. foveolati), are presented. Additionally the identification of the previously reported S. reilianum, from sorghum, is confirmed on the basis of nuclear rDNA sequence data. All four reports represent new records for the Arabian Peninsula region. Keywords: Native flora, Arabian Peninsula, Sorghum, Sugarcane, Basidiomycetes, Ustilaginales
Previous reports of smut diseases in Oman are few. Waller and Bridge (1978) reported loose smut (Ustilago nuda) on wheat; Moghul (1993) reported Ustilago nuda on wheat and barley, Graphiola phoenicsis on datepalm and Sphacelotheca (Sporisorium) reiliana on sorghum. The lack of previous reports of smuts is surprising given the widespread cultivation of cereals and other monocotyledonous crops in the country. No prior reports exist concerning smut pathogens on the native flora of Oman and indeed, no systematic study has been made of the smut fungi in any of the countries of the Arabian Peninsula. Disease specimens from Oman and other Arabian Peninsula countries are lacking in the major world herbaria. Neither the U.S. National Fungus Collections (BPI) nor the Kriebel Herbarium at Purdue University (PUL) contained any smut specimens from Oman prior to the present study. Given Oman’s position between northeastern Africa and southwestern Asia, the collection of baseline data on Corresponding author: M.L. Deadman Fax: +96824413418 E-mail:
[email protected]
resident smut pathogens and their hosts fulfills a timely and critical need and follows recent efforts to augment the available information for other major Basidiomycete pathogens (Deadman et al., 2011). The current study compiles data for the four species of Sporisorium now known for northern Oman, including three new records – S. sorghi, S. foviolati and S. scitamineum. Furthermore, the identity of S. reilianum previously reported in northern Oman is confirmed using nuclear rDNA sequence data. Fresh collections were made across northern Oman including the Hajar Mountains between January 2009 and January 2012. The area (as described in Deadman et al., 2011) is approximately enclosed by the coordinates 24o56’30”N, 56o25’05”E; 21o58’53”N, 55o40’47”E; 22o28’51”N, 59o49’38”E; 21o03’48”N, 58o50’11”E. Field collected specimens were transferred to Sultan Qaboos University for initial identification and then to the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Purdue University, USA for detailed examination and molecular characterization. Pathogen identity was confirmed by nuclear ribosomal large subunit (28S) DNA sequencing and analysis, following protocols outlined in Aime (2006) except that primers LSU4-B (Aime and Phillips-Mora, 2005) and LR6 (Vilgalys and Hester, 1990) were used for amplification and sequencing. Voucher sequences were deposited in GenBank (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/) and voucher specimens deposited in the Kriebel Herbarium (PUL; Purdue University, Indiana). Authority names are based on Authors of Fungal Names (CABI): http://www.indexfungorum.org/Names/Names.asp. This report brings together information on the four Sporisorium species that are now known to occur in Oman; three of these species are recorded in the country for the first time. Collecting efforts thus far have been largely directed toward the northern agricultural regions of Oman and on hosts of agricultural importance. It is expected that collections made in the southern Dhofar region where climatic conditions are significantly different to those in northern Oman, and collections from the native flora which contains many endemic species (Patzelt, 2008) are likely to yield many additional species.
540
Sporisorium smut in Oman
Sporisorium foveolati (Maire) Vánky, Mycotaxon 33: 367
(1988) Specimens examined. – Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, on agricultural land, on Dichanthium foveolatum (Del.) Roberty (Poaceae), I. Al Mahmooli, May 2010 (GenBank KR014148). Also, at Rustaq, on agricultural land, on D. foveolatum, M. Deadman, December 2009. Hosts and distribution. – This smut species has previously been reported from Eritrea (Vanky, 2005) and Iran (Vanky and Abbasi, 2013) on the same host. This is the first report for this pathogen in the Arabian Peninsula.
Sporisorium reilianum (J.G. Kühn) Langdon & Full., My-
cotaxon 6 (3): 452 (1978) Specimens examined. – Emti, Al Dakhliah Region, on agricultural land, on Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench (Graminae), M. Deadman, November 2009 (GenBank KR014149). Also, at Burkat Al Mauz, on agricultural land, on sorghum, M. Deadman, October 2010. Hosts and distribution. – Previously reported as Sphacelotheca reiliana in Oman by Moghul (1993), this widespread smut species is confirmed in Oman on the basis of nuclear rDNA sequence data.
Sporisorium scitamineum (Syd.) M. Piepenbr., M. Stoll &
Oberw., Mycol. Progr. 1 (1): 75 (2002) Specimens examined. – Bahla, Al Dakhliah Region, on agricultural land, on Saccharum officinarum L. (Poaceae), M Al Azri, January 2012 (GenBank KR014150). Hosts and distribution. – Pathogen with apparently limited distribution, restricted to China and Latin America (Farr and Rossman, 2015). This is a new report for Oman, the Arabian Peninsula and the Middle East/North Africa region.
Sporisorium sorghi Ehrenb. ex Link, in Willdenow, Sp. pl., Edn 4 6 (2): 86 (1825) Specimens examined. - Emti, Al Dakhliah Region, on agricultural land, on Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench (Graminae), M. Deadman, November 2009 (GenBank KR014151). Also at Burkat Al Mauz, Al Dakhliah Region, on agricultural land, on sorghum, M. Deadman, October 2010.
Received July 30, 2015 Accepted August 12, 2015
Journal of Plant Pathology (2015), 97 (3), 539-540
Hosts and distribution. – Previously reported from North and South America (Stoll et al., 2005), Australia (Vanky and Shivas, 2008), Europe and North Africa (Vanky, 1994) and South Asia (Vanky, 2007), this widespread smut species is reported here for the first time in Oman and the Arabian Peninsula. REFERENCES Aime M.C., 2006. Toward resolving family-level relationships in rust fungi (Uredinales). Mycoscience 47: 112-122. Aime M.C., Phillips-Mora W., 2005. The causal agents of witches’ broom and frosty pod rot of cacao (chocolate, Theobroma cacao) form a new lineage of Marasmiaceae. Mycologia 97: 1012-1022. Deadman M.L., Al Sa’di A.M., Al Maqbali Y.A., Farr D., Aime M.C., 2011. Additions to the rust fungi (Pucciniales) from northern Oman. Sydowia 63: 153-168. Farr D.F., Rossman A.Y., 2015. Fungal Databases, Systematic Mycology and Microbiology Laboratory, ARS, USDA. Retrieved February 5, 2015, from /fungaldatabases/. Moghul S.M., 1993. Status of Pests and Disease in Oman, 1: Plant Disease in the Batinah. Directorate General of Agricultural Research, Rumais, Oman. Patzelt A., 2008. Oman Plant Red Data Book. Oman Botanic Garden Publication no. 1. Diwan of Royal Court, Office for Conservation of the Environment, Sultanate of Oman. Stoll M., Begerow D., Oberwinkler F., 2005. Molecular phylogeny of Ustilago, Sporisorium, and related taxa based on combined analyses of rDNA sequences. Mycological Research 109: 342-356. Vanky K., 1994. European Smut Fungi. Gustav Fischer Verlag, Stuttgart. Vanky K., 2005. The smut fungi of Ethiopia and Eritrea. Lidia 6: 93-120. Vanky K., 2007. Smut fungi of the Indian subcontinent. Polish Botanical Studies 26: 3-265. Vanky K., Abbasi M., 2013. Smut fungi of Iran. Mycosphere 4: 363-454. Vanky K., Shivas R.G., 2008. Fungi of Australia. The Smut Fungi. ABRS, Canberra; CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne. Vilgalys R., Hester M., 1990. Rapid genetic identification and mapping of enzymatically amplified ribosomal DNA from several Cryptococcus species. Journal of Bacteriology 172: 4238-4246. Waller J.M., Bridge J., 1978. Plant diseases and nematodes in the Sultanate of Oman. PANS 24: 313-326.
