@Article{phyton.2020.08010,
AUTHOR = {Maria Khizar, Urooj Haroon, Musrat Ali, Samiah Arif, Iftikhar Hussain Shah , Hassan Javed  Chaudhary, Muhammad Farooq Hussain Munis},
TITLE = {<i>Aspergillus tubingensis</i> Causes Leaf Spot of Cotton (<i>Gossypium hirsutum</i> L.) in Pakistan},
JOURNAL = {Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany},
VOLUME = {89},
YEAR = {2020},
NUMBER = {1},
PAGES = {103--109},
URL = {http://www.techscience.com/phyton/v89n1/38403},
ISSN = {1851-5657},
ABSTRACT = {Cotton (<i>Gossypium hirsutum</i> 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 
<i>Aspergillus tubingensis</i> 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 <i>A. tubingensis</i>. 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 <i>A. tubingensis</i> in causing leaf spot disease 
of cotton in Pakistan and around the world.},
DOI = {10.32604/phyton.2020.08010}
}