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Incidence of Leptosphaerulina crassiasca in symptomless leaves of peanut in southern India
Author(s) -
Suryanarayanan Trichur S.,
Murali Thokur S.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of basic microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.58
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1521-4028
pISSN - 0233-111X
DOI - 10.1002/jobm.200510126
Subject(s) - endophyte , biology , fungus , plant use of endophytic fungi in defense , botany , pathogen , pathogenicity , crop , host (biology) , leaf spot , pepper , horticulture , microbiology and biotechnology , agronomy , ecology
A Loculoascomycete fungus belonging to the genus Leptosphaerulina was found to survive as symptomless endophyte in the leaflets and rachis of peanut plant (TMV 7). Based on morphological and colony characteristics, it is identified as Leptosphaerulina crassiasca , a fungus that causes the pepper spot and leaf scorch diseases in peanut. Although several common endophytic fungi were recovered from the leaves of peanut, L . crassiasca showed a high relative density of infection. Owing to its endophytic nature, its pathogenicity could not be proved by infection studies. However, its identification as L. crassiasca suggests that this pathogen survives as symptomless endophyte in its host. There are limited studies on fungal endophytes of cultivated crops and hence, the present observation underlines the need to know more about the biology of endophytic fungi of crop plants. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)