Ben Salem, I., Correia, K. C, Boughalleb, N., Michereff, S. J., León, M., Abad-Campos, P., García-Iiménez, I., and Armengol, J. 2013. Monosporascus eutypoides, a cause of root rot and vine decline in Tunisia, and evidence that M. cannonbailus and M. eutypoides are distinct species. Plant Dis. 97:737-743.Three Monosporascus eutypoides-\ike isolates recovered from cucurbit plants with symptoms of Monosporascus root rot and vine decline in Tunisia were compared to 28 isolates of M. cannonbaiius from 12 countries for phenotypic, genomic, and pathogenicity charactedstics. Morphologically, M. cannonbaiius and M. eutypoides-like cultures were similar, each producing fertile pedthecia in culture containing globose, smooth, dark brown to black ascospores. Nevertheless, all M. cannonbaiius isolates had one ascospore per ascus, while M. eutypoides-like isolates had mainly two to three ascospores per ascus (rarely one). The employment of the internal transcdbed spacer (ITS) of nuclear ribosomal DNA, the elongation factor 1-a {EF-la), and the ß-tubulin (P-tub) gene sequence diversity analyses and the resulting phytogenies identified a level of polymorphism that enabled separation of M. cannonbaiius and M. eurypoide.i-yike isolates. All isolates of M. cannonbaiius had identical EF-\a and fi-tub sequences irrespective of very diverse geographic origins, which were different from the EF-\a and P-tub sequences of the M. eutypoides-like isolates (96 and 97% similadty, respectively). Similar results were obtained for the ITS region of rDNA. In addition, of three M. eutypoides-like isolates tested for pathogenicity, all three were pathogenic on watermelon, two were pathogenic on muskmelon, but only one was pathogenic on cucumber. The results demonstrate that the M. eutypoides-like isolates belong to the species M. eutypoides, and that M. cannonbaiius and M. eutypoides

Objective. Plant cell culture is an innovative technology to produce a variety of substances. Numerous plants synthesize among their secondary metabolites phenolic compounds which possess antioxidant and antimicrobial effects. Hawthorn (Crataegus) is one of these plants which has long been used in folk medicine and is widely utilized in pharmaceutical preparations mainly in neuro- and cardiosedative actions. Methods and Results. The production of polyphenol by fifty-two-week-old Crataegus azarolus var. aronia calli was studied in relation to growth variation and antioxidant and antimicrobial capacity within a subcultured period. The DPPH and ABTS+ assays were used to characterize the antioxidant actions of the callus cultures. Antimicrobial activity was tested by using disc diffusion and dilution assays for the determination of the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) values of each active extract. High TEACDPPH, TEACABTS, and antimicrobial activity was observed when maximal growth was reached. An optimum of total phenol, proanthocyanidins, flavonoid, (−)-epicatechin, procyanidin B2, chlorogenic acid, and hyperoside was produced during this period. Conclusion. Antioxidant and antimicrobial activities were strongly correlated with total phenols and total flavonoids. Crataegus azarolus var. aronia cells culture represents an important alternative source of natural antioxidants and antimicrobials.

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Nine plants belonging to Chenopodiaceae family were collected around salt marshes near Monastir, located in the east Mediterranean coast of Tunisia. They were tested for their antifungal activities against six plant pathogenic fungi: Botrytis cinerea, Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. niveum, F. solani f. sp. cucurbitae, Phytophthora cactorum, Rhizoctonia solani and Nattrassia mangiferae. Data of this study showed that the highest inhibition of Botrytis cinerea growth was observed with the petroleum ether extract of Atriplex inflata fruits (F) (24.5 mm). The in vitro growth of F. oxysporum f. sp. niveum was reduced only with A. inflata whole plant (WP) petroleum ether extract (32.3 mm). The most important inhibition zones were obtained against F. solani f. sp. cucurbitae with Atriplex semibaccata methanol and acetone extracts (34.7 and 31.0 mm, respectively). This work revealed that fungitoxic compounds were probably present in the petroleum ether extract obtained from A. portulacoides (WP), since it has suppressed the growth of F. s. cucurbitae. Our investigation proved that many Chenopodiaceae species adapted to saline soils may contain phytochemical compounds with fungicidal properties.

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