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Morphological, pathological and phylogenetic analyses identify a diverse group of Colletotrichum spp. causing leaf, pod, and flower diseases on the orphan legume African yam bean

Morphological, pathological and phylogenetic analyses identify a diverse group of Colletotrichum spp. causing leaf, pod, and flower diseases on the orphan legume African yam bean

Ogunsanya, Olaide Mary, Adebisi, Moruf Ayodele, Popoola, Akinola Rasheed, Afolabi, Clement Gboyega, Oyatomi, Olaniyi, Colgan, Richard, Armitage, Andrew ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0610-763X, Thompson, Elinor ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6434-9290, Abberton, Michael and Ortega-Beltran, Alejandro (2024) Morphological, pathological and phylogenetic analyses identify a diverse group of Colletotrichum spp. causing leaf, pod, and flower diseases on the orphan legume African yam bean. Plant Pathology. pp. 1-15. ISSN 0032-0862 (Print), 1365-3059 (Online) (doi:10.1111/ppa.13995)

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Abstract

African yam bean (AYB; Sphenostylis stenocarpa Hochst. Ex A. Rich.) is an underutilized legume indigenous to Africa. The crop has great potential as it can enhance food security and its chemical composition offers nutritional and medicinal opportunities. However, the low grain yield caused by fungal diseases, including pod blight and leaf tip dieback, deters farmers from large-scale cultivation. The causal agents of pod and leaf tip dieback on AYB are largely uncharacterized. To determine the prevalence of fungal diseases affecting leaves, pods, and flowers of AYB, a survey was conducted in 2018 and 2019 in major AYB-growing areas in Nigeria. Leaf tip dieback, flower bud rot, and pod blight were the most common symptoms. Morphological and molecular assays were conducted to identify the causal agents of the observed diseases. In all the samples examined, fungi from eight genera were isolated from leaves and pods showing disease symptoms. However, Koch’s postulates were fulfilled only for fungi belonging to the Colletotrichum genus. Fungi from the other seven genera did not produce disease symptoms in healthy AYB tissues. Several Colletotrichum isolates were characterized by sequencing the ITS, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, calmodulin, and ApMAT loci. A combined phylogenetic analysis revealed four Colletotrichum species: C. siamense, C. theobromicola, and C. fructicola, which were recovered from the diseased leaves, and C. truncatum, which was recovered from diseased pods and buds. Our results are useful to gear efforts to develop integrated management strategies to control diseases affecting AYB in Nigeria and other parts of Africa. The availability of such strategies may stimulate greater cultivation of AYB to contribute to diet diversification, which has been repeatedly advocated by a range of stakeholders to increase food security and the prosperity of smallholder farmers.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: Colletrotrichum; African yam bean; anthracnose; integrated management; orphan crop; polyphasic approach
Subjects: Q Science > Q Science (General)
Q Science > QR Microbiology
S Agriculture > S Agriculture (General)
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group: Faculty of Engineering & Science
Faculty of Engineering & Science > Natural Resources Institute
Faculty of Engineering & Science > Natural Resources Institute > Centre for Sustainable Agriculture 4 One Health
Faculty of Engineering & Science > Natural Resources Institute > Centre for Sustainable Agriculture 4 One Health > Plant Disease & Vectors
Faculty of Engineering & Science > School of Science (SCI)
Last Modified: 06 Sep 2024 15:00
URI: http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/47813

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