Open Access
ARTICLE
Aspergillus tubingensis Causes Leaf Spot of Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) in Pakistan
Maria Khizar1, Urooj Haroon1, Musrat Ali1, Samiah Arif2, Iftikhar Hussain Shah2 , Hassan Javed Chaudhary1, Muhammad Farooq Hussain Munis1,*
1 Department of Plant Sciences, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan
2 Department of Plant Sciences, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
* Corresponding Author: Muhammad Farooq Hussain Munis. Email:
Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany 2020, 89(1), 103-109. https://doi.org/10.32604/phyton.2020.08010
Received 20 July 2019; Accepted 12 October 2019; Issue published 01 March 2020
Abstract
Cotton (
Gossypium hirsutum L.) is a key fiber crop of great commercial
importance. Numerous phytopathogens decimate crop production by causing
various diseases. During July-August 2018, leaf spot symptoms were recurrently
observed on cotton leaves in Rahim Yar Khan, Pakistan and adjacent areas. Infected
leaf samples were collected and plated on potato dextrose agar (PDA) media.
Causal agent of cotton leaf spot was isolated, characterized and identified as
Aspergillus tubingensis based on morphological and microscopic observations.
Conclusive identification of pathogen was done on the comparative molecular
analysis of CaM and β-tubulin gene sequences. BLAST analysis of both sequenced
genes showed 99% similarity with
A. tubingensis. Koch’s postulates were followed
to confirm the pathogenicity of the isolated fungus. Healthy plants were inoculated
with fungus and similar disease symptoms were observed. Fungus was re-isolated
and identified to be identical to the inoculated fungus. To our knowledge, this is the
first report describing the involvement of
A. tubingensis in causing leaf spot disease
of cotton in Pakistan and around the world.
Keywords
Cite This Article
Khizar, M., Haroon, U., Ali, M., Arif, S., Shah, I. H. et al. (2020).
Aspergillus tubingensis Causes Leaf Spot of Cotton (
Gossypium hirsutum L.) in Pakistan.
Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, 89(1), 103–109.
Citations