Browsing by Author "Bozoglu, Tugba"

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Armillaria Species Causing Kiwifruit Vine Decline and Root Rot in Northeastern Türkiye: a Growing Concern for Kiwifruit Health
(Wiley, 2024) Turkkan, Muharrem; Bozoglu, Tugba; Dervis, Sibel; Erper, Ismail; Ozer, Goksel
Kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa) production in northeastern T & uuml;rkiye is facing an emerging threat from Armillaria root rot. Surveys conducted in August 2021 and 2022 revealed that 10.5%-17.5% of the 200-500 vines within each of 35 kiwifruit orchards in the Per & scedil;embe, G & uuml;lyal & imath; and Alt & imath;nordu districts of Ordu province exhibited symptoms of Armillaria root rot, including complete defoliation. Diseased plants exhibited diagnostic signs on their root collars and woody roots, including white mycelial fans, extensive wood rot and rhizomorphs. A single Armillaria isolate was obtained from each of the 35 symptomatic orchards. Molecular identification, employing DNA sequencing of the large subunit (LSU) region of rDNA, the translation elongation factor subunit 1-alpha (TEF1) gene and the second largest RNA polymerase II B-subunit (RPB2) gene, identified 20 isolates as Armillaria gallica and 15 as A. mellea. Phylogenetic analyses, based on TEF1 alignments, further supported the species identification with a 100% bootstrap value. To examine genetic diversity, start codon targeted (SCoT) marker 13 was used, successfully differentiating the two Armillaria species and revealing three distinct clades. Clades I and II comprised 15 and 5 isolates of A. gallica, respectively, while Clade III contained all 15 A. mellea isolates. Pathogenicity testing on kiwifruit seedlings (cv. Hayward) revealed the ability of both A. gallica and A. mellea isolates to induce disease. Rhizomorph-producing isolates in kiwifruit seedlings displayed high virulence, inducing severe leaf necrosis and seedling mortality, while isolates lacking these structures were non-pathogenic. This study identifies the first global instance of A. gallica causing kiwifruit root rot. This finding, along with the identification of A. mellea as a causal agent in the country, highlights the emerging threat of Armillaria root rot to kiwifruit production in the region.
First Report Of Colletotrichum Perseae Causing Anthracnose Disease of Avocado ( Persea Americana) in Türkiye
(Academic Press Ltd- Elsevier Science Ltd, 2024) Bozoglu, Tugba; Turkkan, Muharrem; Ozer, Goksel; Guney, Inci Guler; Dervis, Sibel
Colletotrichum-induced anthracnose is a major disease of avocado (Persea americana), causing significant losses in production worldwide. In 2023, a survey of avocado fruits in markets within the K & imath;z & imath;ltepe district of Mardin, T & uuml;rkiye, revealed symptoms of anthracnose, characterized by brown-black lesions and internal necrosis. To identify the causal agent, 20 symptomatic avocado fruits were collected and fungal isolates resembling Colletotrichum species were obtained. Morphological characterization, multilocus sequence analysis of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS), actin (act), the apn2-Mat1-2 intergenic spacer (ApMat), and calmodulin (cal) loci, and pathogenicity testing were performed for only two representative isolates (Pa01 and Pa02). These analyses identified the pathogen as Colletotrichum perseae. The isolates readily formed ascomata on all culture media tested, suggesting a high capacity for sexual reproduction. Pathogenicity tests confirmed that C. perseae caused characteristic dark, sunken anthracnose lesions on avocado fruits. This is the first report of C. perseae causing anthracnose in avocados in T & uuml;rkiye, expanding the known geographical distribution of this pathogen. The findings highlight the need for effective disease management strategies and further research to understand the pathogen's lifecycle, environmental conditions favoring infection, and potential for seedborne transmission.
First report of Neoscytalidium novaehollandiae on common sage (Salvia officinalis)
(Springer link, 2021) Dervis, Sibel; Guney, Inci Guler; Kosar, Islim; Bozoglu, Tugba; Ozer, Goksel
In June 2020, many plants exhibited symptoms of root rot and foliar blight in the experimental field of common sage in Sanliurfa province, Turkey. The pathogen was identified as Neoscytalidium novaehollandiae based on morphological characteristics and phylogenetic analysis of partial sequence of the transcription elongation factor 1-alpha gene and the internal transcribed spacer of rDNA. Koch's postulates were fulfilled by successful re-isolation of the pathogen from inoculated plants in the pathogenicity assay. To our best knowledge, this is the first report of N. novaehollandiae causing root rot and foliar blight of common sage worldwide.