bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
First Report of Leaf Blight of Onion Caused by Xanthomonas campestris in the Continental United States
Authors: Isakeit T. , Miller M. E. , Barnes L. W. , Dickstein E. R. , Jones J. B. 
Published: May 2007

In March 1998, a leaf blight of onion (Allium cepa L. ‘1015’) was found on many plants in a plot on the Texas A&M Agricultural Experiment Station in Weslaco. The symptoms were longitudinal chlorotic areas on one side of the leaf, containing sunken, elliptical necrotic lesions. Affected leaves ultimately died. Chlorotic lesions were swabbed with 70% ethanol, and tissue from beneath the epidermis was placed in a drop sterile water for 20 min. Drops were streaked on nutrient agar and incubated at 30°C. Isolations yielded gram-negative, rod-shaped bacteria that formed dark yellow, gummy colonies on yeast dextrose carbonate agar medium, hydrolyzed starch, and had a single, polar flagellum. Analysis of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) profiles, using the Microbial Identification System (MIS, version 4.15; Microbial Identification, Newark, DE), done at the Texas Plant Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, College Station, identified nine isolates as Xanthomonas campestris (similarity indices of 0.31 to 0.54). Tests at the University of Florida supported this identification: FAME profiles using MIS version 3.9 gave similarity indices of 0.89 to 0.95, and profiles using Biolog GN Microplates, MicroLog database release 3.50 (Biolog, Hayward, CA), gave similarity indices of 0.03 to 0.76. Leaves (15 to 20 cm long) of potted onions (cv. 1015 at the five- to six-leaf stage) were infiltrated with a suspension of bacteria (107 CFU per ml), using a needle and syringe. Plants were maintained in mist chamber in a greenhouse at 24°C. Water-soaking and development of pale green color of the inoculated leaf occurred after 2 days, followed by death after 4 days. There were no symptoms on leaves inoculated with sterile water. Pathogenicity tests on four isolates were repeated once. Bacteria were reisolated on nutrient agar from symptomatic tissue but not from controls. In the field plot, disease severity did not increase as season progressed nor were there any symptoms on bulbs. Symptoms were not observed on onion during the 1999 season. X. campestris was first reported on onion from Hawaii (1). This is the first report of this pathogen on onion in the continental United States. Reference: (1) A. M. Alvarez et al. Phytopathology 68:1132, 1978.
First Report of a Mexican Isolate of Papaya mosaic virus in Papaya (Carica papaya) and Pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo)
Authors: Noa-Carrazana J. C. , Silva-Rosales L. 
Published: May 2007

Papaya mosaic virus (PMV) is a member of the Potexvirus group and has filamentous particles of 530 nm with a positive sense single-stranded RNA of 6.6Kb. PMV was detected in Mexico in diseased papaya plants growing alone and in mixed plantations with pumpkin. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reactions (RT-PCR) and standard double-antibody sandwich enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (DAS-ELISA) procedures were used on 45 leaf samples from single plants in seven locations in southeast Mexico (States of Yucatan, Campeche, and Quintana Roo). PCR primer design was based on a GenBank sequence with accession number D13957 (1). Amplified PCR products were cloned using a TOPO TA Cloning Kit and sequenced by the dideoxy chain termination method. Twenty-six samples tested positive for PMV using one or both detection techniques: 23 of 41 from papaya and three of four from pumpkin. The two sequences reported here, YY-15 and YY-22 (from papaya and pumpkin respectively, with accession numbers AYO17186 and AYO17187), were 1180 nucleotides long and contained a fragment of ORF3, the complete ORF4 and the putative CP gene, including the 3′ end untranslatable region. Within the CP gene sequence, the amino acid sequence derived had a similarity of 88% with that of D13957 from the GenBank. The similarity of the CP between the two Mexican isolates (from papaya and pumpkin) was 94% and would therefore represent two variants of PMV. A healthy papaya plant in the greenhouse, inoculated with tissue from an infected papaya plant from the field, tested positive for PMV in DAS-ELISA. (PVX was used as a negative control). These results confirmed the identity of the isolate as PMV. Reference: (1) T. L. Sit, M. G. AbouHaidar, and S. Holi. J. Gen. Virol. 70:2335-2331, 1989.
First Report of Dollar Spot, Caused by Sclerotinia homoeocarpa, on Poa pratensis in Saskatchewan, Canada
Authors: Smith J. D. , Gossen B. D. , Hsiang T. 
Published: May 2007

Dollar spot disease affects many species of grasses in North America but has not been previously reported from Saskatchewan. In July 2000, symptoms were observed on golf course fairways in Saskatoon. No dollar spot disease was observed on adjacent putting greens or tees composed of Agrostis palustris (creeping bentgrass), perhaps because the tees and greens were grown under a higher nitrogen fertility regime. Fungicide treatments are usually not required for turf disease control during the warm, dry summer growing season in Saskatoon, and no fungicides had been applied at this location. Daytime temperatures near 25°C and heavy dew at night preceded the disease outbreak, which affected about 5% of the turf across large areas of several fairways. The fairways were originally seeded to Festuca rubra subsp. rubra (common creeping red fescue) and Poa pratensis (Kentucky bluegrass) but also contained annual bluegrass (P. annua). The disease was observed on leaf blades of all three species. In addition to 5-cm-diameter circular patches of brown grass, sharply delimited individual leaf lesions and cobweb-like aerial mycelia on the grass were observed. Fungal isolates were obtained by plating infected P. pratensis leaf blades on potato dextrose agar and then transferring to oat agar. On oat agar, isolates produced white, fluffy aerial mycelium, columnar when mature, and usually with a cinnamon base and dark brown stromata or sclerotial flakes on and in the agar. DNA was extracted from an isolate and amplified using the primers ITS1 and ITS4 (1). A 500-bp fragment presumed to contain the internal transcribed spacer region of the ribosomal DNA (ITS) was purified and sequenced (1), and it showed 96% identity with the ITS of a Sclerotinia homoeocarpa isolate, Genbank accession AF067640. To test Koch's postulates, P. pratensis cv. Loft 1757 was grown from seed in 15 ml of sand at 20°C under constant fluorescent light. Two-week-old turf was inoculated with 5-mm-diameter mycelial plugs of the fungus from 1-week-old cultures on potato dextrose agar by placing inoculum plugs on the sand. Inoculated turf was incubated in a loosely-lidded clear plastic container at 20°C under constant fluorescent lighting. After 1 week, lesions and white aerial hyphae were observed on the leaf blades, while no disease was observed on the uninoculated controls. The fungus was reisolated from foliar lesions to complete Koch's postulates. In addition to P. pratensis, both P. annua and A. palustris cv. Penncross were also inoculated and showed disease symptoms, with greater disease severity on P. annua. Reference: (1) T. Hsiang and C. Wu. Mycol. Res. 104:16, 2000.
First Record of Pea enation mosaic virus Naturally Infecting Chickpea and Grasspea Crops in Syria
Authors: Makkouk K. M. , Kumari S. G. , Lesemann D.-E. 
Published: May 2007

Virus-like symptoms not commonly encountered on most chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) and grasspea (Lathyrus sativus L.) genotypes were noticed at the ICARDA farm near Aleppo, Syria, during April and May 2001. Primary symptoms included stunting, accompanied by leaf mottling and yellowing. The causal agent was transmitted by the pea aphid (Acyrthosiphon pisum Harris) in a persistent manner. Efficiency of transmission was 100% when aphids acquired the virus from grasspea and then inoculated lentil, whereas transmission efficiency was 21% when aphids acquired the virus from chickpea and then inoculated lentil. Samples of symptomatic chickpea and grasspea reacted strongly with the antiserum prepared against a Dutch isolate (E154) of Pea enation mosaic virus (PEMV), provided by L. Bos (Wageningen, the Netherlands) (1), using tissue blot immunoassay (2). Negatively stained preparations from chickpea and grasspea revealed typical PEMV-like isometric particles ≍30 nm in diameter. With immunoelectron microscopy, these particles were effectively trapped and strongly decorated with PEMV antibodies (immunoglobulin G diluted 1:10) provided by M. Musil (Bratislava, formerly Czechoslovakia) (4). The virus capsid protein was 22 kDa based on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, typical of the PEMV coat protein, and reacted strongly with PEMV antiserum (E154) in western blots. This is the first report of PEMV naturally infecting chickpea and grasspea in Syria and, to our knowledge, the first report in West Asia. PEMV reached epidemic levels on lentil in Syria for the first time in 1994 (3). Field symptoms observed in May 2001 suggest that PEMV may also seriously affect lentil, chickpea, and grasspea crops in Syria. References: (1) K. Mahmood and D. Peters. Neth. J. Plant Pathol. 79:138, 1973. (2) K. M. Makkouk and A. Comeau. Eur. J. Plant Pathol. 100:71, 1994. (3) K. M. Makkouk et al. Plant Dis. 83:303, 1999. (4) M. Musil et al. Acta Virol. 14:285, 1970.
First Report of Sclerotium rolfsii on Star-cluster (Pentas lanceolata) in Taiwan
Authors: Fu C. H. , Hsieh H. J. , Yao J. C. 
Published: May 2007

Star-cluster (Pentas lanceolata (Forssk.) Deflers) has recently become popular as a bedding plant in Taiwan. During the summer of 2000, a sudden wilt of 60-day-old plants was observed in a nursery in Tainan City (southern Taiwan). Initial symptoms included stem necrosis at the soil line and yellowing and tan discoloration of leaves. As stem necrosis progressed, infected plants wilted and died. Necrotic tissues were covered with white mycelium that differentiated into reddish brown, spherical (1 to 2 mm in diameter) sclerotia. Sclerotium rolfsii was consistently recovered from the surface of symptomatic stem sections that were disinfected for 1 min in 0.5% NaOCl and plated on potato dextrose agar amended with 100 ppm streptomycin sulfate. Pathogenicity of three isolates of S. rolfsii was confirmed by inoculating 90-day-old plants of P. lanceolata that were grown in pots. Three plants each were inoculated with a 5-mm plug of agar with mycelium or two sclerotia of the pathogen. Inoculum was placed on the soil surface against the stem of each plant. Three noninoculated plants served as controls. All plants were kept in a growth chamber at 20 to 30°C with relative humidity >85%. The pathogenicity test was repeated. Inoculated plants developed symptoms within 7 days, while control plants remained symptomless. Sclerotia developed on infected tissues and S. rolfsii was reisolated from symptomatic tissues. Although this disease has been observed on many species of plants (1), to our knowledge, this is the first report of southern blight of P. lanceolata caused by S. rolfsii in Taiwan. Reference: (1) Tsai, Y. P., ed. List of Plant Diseases in Taiwan. The Plant Protection Society of the Republic of China and The Phytopathological Society of the Republic of China. 1991.
First Report of Gray Leaf Spot on St. Augustinegrass in Italy
Authors: Polizzi G. , Castello I. , Picco A. M. , Rodino D. 
Published: May 2007

St. Augustinegrass (Stenotaphrum secundatum (Walt.) Kuntze) is used for lawns in southern Italy because it is much more resistant to biotic and abiotic adversities than other turfgrass species. Because few seeds are viable, this species is established by vegetative propagation. A new disease was noticed during the spring of 2002 and 2003 on cuttings of St. Augustinegrass growing in three greenhouses in eastern Sicily. The disease affected leaves and culms and caused a progressive drying of the plants. The infection was first seen on leaves as gray, necrotic spots that enlarged in high-humidity conditions to form oval, and later, spindle-shaped lesions. In association with the lesions, it was possible to observe fungal spore development and sunken areas with blue-gray centers and slightly irregular, brown margins with yellow halos. Spots were concentrated without specific arrangement along longitudinal veins and the midrib and at the base, tip, and margins of the leaf blade. Symptoms on the culms consisted of brown-to-black blotches that sometimes extended throughout the internodes. From these infected tissues, 20 explants taken from leaves and culms were cut, washed with sterile water, and placed on 1.5% water agar (WA). Later, conidia and conidiophores were obtained from colonies with a sterile glass needle and placed on 4% WA. From these plates, two monoconidial isolates were obtained and transferred to rice meal medium (1). The colonies were identified as Pyricularia grisea Cooke (Sacc.), anamorphic state of Magnaporthe grisea (Hebert) Yeagashi & Udagawa, the cause of rice blast disease and gray leaf spot disease of turfgrasses. The conidia were pyriform to obclavate, narrowed toward the tip, rounded at the base, 2-septate, 21 to 31 μm × 6 to 10 μm (average 25.7 ×8.2 μm). Pathogenicity tests were performed by inoculating leaves and culms of six St. Augustinegrass plants with a conidial suspension of the fungus (1.5 ×105 conidia per ml). The same number of noninoculated plants was used as controls. All plants were incubated in a moist chamber with high humidity at 25°C. After 6 days, all inoculated plants showed typical symptoms of the disease. Koch's postulates were fulfilled by isolating P. grisea from inoculated plants. Gray leaf spot caused by P. grisea has been a chronic problem on St. Augustinegrass since it was first reported in 1957 (2). To our knowledge, this is the first report of P. grisea on St. Augustinegrass in Italy. While it does not appear to be an important disease in the field at this time in Sicily, it could cause losses in greenhouses where vegetative material is propagated for field planting. A preliminary molecular analysis has shown a clear distinction between the tested strain and other strains isolated from rice seeds and plants in northern Italy. References: (1) E. Roumen et al. Eur. J. Plant Pathol. 103:363, 1997. (2) L. P. Tredway et al. Plant Dis. 87:435, 2003.
First Report of Downy Mildew on Delphinium Caused by Peronospora ficariae in California
Authors: Tjosvold S. A. , Koike S. T. 
Published: May 2007

Along California's central coast, delphinium (Delphinium species and cultivars) is grown as a cut flower and potted plant. In the spring of 2003, severe downy mildew was observed on various delphinium crops in Santa Cruz County. The disease was detected on cut flower Delphinium ‘Volkerfrieden’ in a greenhouse and adjacent field production areas. At a different nursery, outdoor, containerized D. grandiflorum ‘Blue Butterfly’ and Delphinium elatum (Pacific Hybrids) were also infected. Initial symptoms on leaves consisted of light green patches. These areas quickly turned dark green to blackish green and often were delimited by the central vein of the leaf. Purple-gray sporulation of the pathogen could be seen primarily on the abaxial leaf surfaces. Symptoms were most severe on older foliage. As disease progressed, the lower leaves withered and dried up, giving the plant a blighted appearance. Disease was most severe on D. grandiflorum ‘Blue Butterfly’, in which the disease affected the entire planting and blighted all foliage with the exception of the youngest leaves on the plant's central leader. For this cultivar, the diseased nursery stock had to be discarded, resulting in significant economic loss. Sporangiophores branched dichotomously, with branches ending in slender, slightly curved tips. Sporangia were slightly purplish, ellipsoid to ovoid, and measured 27 to 36 × 19 to 22 μm. Inside the tissue of older symptomatic leaves, extensive numbers of oogonia and oospores were observed. Oospores were globoid, amber to light brown, verruculose, and measured 25 to 27 μm in diameter. The pathogen was identified as Peronospora ficariae (1). Pathogenicity was demonstrated by spraying sporangial suspensions (1.0 × 104 sporangia per ml) onto the leaves of healthy, potted Delphinium elatum (Pacific Hybrids), incubating the plants in a dew chamber at 18°C for 48 h, and then maintaining them in a greenhouse (22 to 24°C). After 10 to 12 days, inoculated plants developed downy mildew symptoms, and the same pathogen sporulated sparsely on the host. If these plants were again placed in the dew chamber for an additional 24 h, leaf lesions sporulated profusely in the following 48 h. Control plants treated with water did not develop any symptoms or signs of downy mildew. To our knowledge, this is the first report of downy mildew caused by P. ficariae on cultivars of delphinium in California. Reference: (1) G. Hall. Mycopathologia 126:51, 1994.
First Report of Species of Colletotrichum Causing Leaf Blotch of Liriodendron tulipifera in Argentina
Authors: Lori G. A. , Alippi A. M. , Dimenna S. 
Published: May 2007

Since 1986, irregular, blotchy lesions of leaves and petioles of tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera L.) have been observed each summer in the city of La Plata, Argentina. Leaf spots are initially 2 to 3 mm in diameter and water soaked, and then they become brown or black with faint chlorotic margins that are more noticeable on the adaxial surface. Lesions may attain a diameter of 12 mm. Veins and petioles may also be affected and lesions may coalesce, especially at leaf margins. Surface-sterilized pieces of necrotic tissue collected from eight sites in the La Plata area were plated on potato dextrose agar and incubated at 27°C. Two Colletotrichum species were consistently isolated from the lesions. Single-spore cultures were obtained and identified as C. acutatum (1) and C. gloeosporioides (4). When cultured on V8 medium, mycelial growth of C. acutatum was tufted and pale gray, and the reverse side of colonies was buff to cream or pale gray to tan, but never dark. Hyaline conidia were buff to rosy buff en masse and elliptical or elongated with abruptly tapering ends measuring 8.04 to 13.58 × 2.68 to 3 μm. Micromorphology of conidia were compared with C. acutatum “Herb IMI 232176” (1). C. gloeosporioides cultures were dark gray; their reverse was dark mouse gray to fuscous black. The cirrhus was peach to orange and hyaline conidia were oblong with rounded ends measuring 8.6 to 13.40 × 2.68 to 4.02 μm. Pathogenicity was verified on greenhouse-grown tulip trees and strawberry cv. Pájaro (Fragaria × ananassa) by spray inoculation with conidial suspensions of C. acutatum (107/ml), C. gloeosporioides (106/ml), and a mixture of both species (equal parts of each suspension). Controls were sprayed with sterile distilled water. Irregular, blotchy lesions of tulip tree appeared 30 days after inoculation. Anthracnose symptoms (3) were observed on strawberries 7 days after inoculation. In all cases, lesions produced by the mixture were larger than those obtained with individual species. The inoculated fungi were reisolated from lesions of all species tested, fulfilling Koch's postulates. No lesions were observed on control plants. Voucher specimens were deposited in La Plata Spegazzini Herbarium, Argentina as C. acutatum (LPS 47187) and C. gloeosporioides (LPS 47188); cultures of both fungi were also deposited as LPSC 795 and LPSC 796, respectively. C. acutatum and C. gloeosporioides cause Liriodendron leaf blotch in Argentina. Glomerella cingulata was previously reported affecting L. tulipifera (2), but to our knowledge, this is the first report of tulip tree as a host of C. acutatum. References: (1) B. J. Dyko and J. E. M. Mordue. No. 630 in: Descriptions of Pathogenic Fungi and Bacteria. CMI, Kew, Surrey, UK, 1979 (2) K. Ito and T. Kobayashi. Bull. For. Exp. Stn. Meguro 146:1, 1962. (3) C. J. Ramallo et al. Plant Dis. 84:706, 2000. (4) J. A. von Arx. Phytopathol. Z. 29:413, 1957.
First Report of Fire Blight Caused by Erwinia amylovora on Pyracantha coccinea in Bulgaria
Authors: Bobev S. G. , Baeyen S. , Crepel C. , Maes M. 
Published: May 2007

During late May and June of 2003, a fire blight epidemic occurred in southcentral Bulgaria on earlier reported hosts such as apple, pear, quince, and hawthorn (1). A new host was found when fire blight was also observed in mid-June on Pyracantha coccinea grown in the Plovdiv Region. Symptoms were necrotic flowers, shoots, petioles, and the presence of sticky ooze droplets mainly on the shoots. Isolations made from blighted Pyracantha coccinea flowers and shoots onto King's medium B (2 days at 25 to 26°C) yielded whitish, glistening, round bacterial colonies. Infiltration of the suspensions of three of the isolates into tobacco leaves resulted in a typical hypersensitive reaction. When Pyracantha coccinea and Cotoneaster sp. shoots were inoculated with these three isolates, typical fire blight symptoms were obtained. The pathogen was reisolated 2 weeks after inoculation from necrotic tissues (15 to 20 mm above and below the inoculation site), thereby fulfilling the Koch's postulates. No symptoms and bacteria were found within any of the shoots from the same plant species injected with sterile water. The identity of the isolates was also determined by conducting nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) (2) and target-specific PCR (23S rDNA) (3). On the basis of the symptoms, cultural characteristics, and positive results in pathogenicity and PCR tests, the isolates were considered to be Erwinia amylovora. To our knowledge, this is the first report of fire blight on Pyracantha coccinea in Bulgaria. References: (1) S. G. Bobev et al. Plant Dis. 82:1283, 1998. (2) P. Llop et al. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 66:2071, 2000. (3) M. Maes et al. Plant Pathol. 45:1139, 1996.
Surfactant Protein B Detection and Gene Expression in Chronic Rhinosinusitis
Authors: Woodworth Bradford A. , Wood Rachel , Bhargave Geeta , Cohen Noam A. , Baatz John E. , Schlosser Rodney J. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractIntroduction: Surfactant protein (SP)‐B is a hydrophobic protein secreted within pulmonary surfactant that facilitates the adsorption of surface‐active lipids to the air‐liquid interface of the alveoli and increases alveolar stability. SP‐B may also have anti‐inflammatory properties. It is implicated in decreasing the pulmonary inflammatory response to bacterial lipopolysaccharide. However, the expression and function of SP‐B in the sinonasal cavities has not been elucidated. Our objective was to detect the presence of SP‐B, measure alterations in several forms of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS), and localize cellular protein expression.Materials/Methods: Sinus mucosal biopsies were performed in patients with allergic fungal rhinosinusitis (AFRS), nonatopic CRS with nasal polyposis (NP), and cystic fibrosis (CF) and in healthy controls. SP‐B mRNA was measured in CRS and control patients using quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Immunoblot analysis and immunolocalization of SP‐B were also performed.Results: CF (n = 4) showed significantly increased levels of SP‐B (169‐fold) mRNA (P = .004) when compared with controls (n = 5). CRS with NP (n = 5) and AFRS (n = 7) also demonstrated elevated levels of SP‐ B (14‐fold and 4‐fold, respectively) when compared with the control group, although these were not statistically significant. Immunoblot analysis confirmed the presence of the translated product, and immunolocalization revealed expression in the epithelium and submucosal glandular elements.Conclusion: This is the first study to detect and characterize SP‐B in human sinus mucosa. Furthermore, SP‐B is significantly up‐regulated in CF CRS.