Detection of phytopathogenic fungi that cause leaf spots in Ecuadorian sugarcane EC-08 variety
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Abstract
The importance of identifying phytopathogenic fungi in sugarcane is crucial for establishing effective control strategies that ensure the sustainability and production of this important grass. The study aimed to identify the fungal causal agents that cause necrotic leaf spots in the EC-08 variety of sugarcane. After disinfection, the samples were inoculated in potato dextrose agar (PDA) culture medium. Pure cultures were obtained for molecular analysis by extracting deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and internal transcribed spacer (ITS). In addition, a metagenomic analysis was performed using parallel mass sequencing metabarcoding (ITS), and the sequences were identified using BLAST. The results of the ITS molecular analysis yielded 100 % pure DNA in the amplified fragments. Agarose gel electrophoresis at 1 % visualized bands for the species: Curvularia petersonii (535 bp), Aspergillus arachidicola (536 bp), and Rhinocladiella sp. (529 bp) based on SANGER sequencing readings, while the taxonomic profile result detected 100 % Fusarium pseudoanthophilum and 97 % Nigrospora osmanthi. In conclusion, ITS barcoding and metabarcoding methods enabled the identification of the phytopathogenic fungi C. petersonii, A. arachidicola, Rhinocladiella sp., F. pseudoanthophilum, and N. osmanthi as causes of leaf necrosis in this cultivar.
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