Quambalaria species associated with plantation and native eucalypts in Australia

Abstract

This study aimed to determine which species of Quambalaria are associated with shoot blight symptoms on Corymbia spp. An additional aim was to determine the presence and impact of quambalaria shoot blight on Eucalyptus species used in plantation development in subtropical and tropical regions of eastern Australia. Surveys identified three Quambalaria spp. -Q. pitereka , Q. eucalypti and Q. cyanescens -from native and plantation eucalypts, as well as amenity plantings, including the first confirmed report of Q. eucalypti from Eucalyptus plantations in Australia. Symptom descriptions and morphological studies were coupled with phylogenetic studies using ITS rDNA sequence data. Quambalaria pitereka was the causal agent of blight symptoms on species and hybrids in the Corymbia complex. Quambalaria eucalypti was identified from Eucalyptus species and a single Corymbia hybrid. Quambalaria cyanescens was detected from native and plantation Corymbia spp.

Variable resistance to Quambalaria pitereka in spotted gum reveal opportunities for disease screening

“…Here it is also important to consider variation in the aggressiveness of strains and regional pathotypes to be used in artificial inoculations. Pegg et al (2008) have previously identified variability when studying a limited number of isolates of Q. pitereka from regions in Queensland and NSW. What is not known is the importance of pathogen variability in relation to aggressiveness and its role in disease development.…”

“…In these plantations the pathogen infects foliage, stems and woody tissue of species of the genera Corymbia, Blakella and Angophora (Walker and Bertus 1971;Bertus and Walker 1974;Simpson 2000, Pegg et al 2008. Old (1990) described Q. pitereka as being endemic to the coastal forests of eastern Australia, where seedlings and young trees of Corymbia species can be severely affected.…”

“…Quambalaria shoot blight, caused by the fungus Quambalaria pitereka, is a serious disease affecting the expanding eucalypt plantation estate in subtropical and tropical eastern Australia (Simpson 2000;Self et al 2002;Carnegie 2007;Pegg et al 2008). In these plantations the pathogen infects foliage, stems and woody tissue of species of the genera Corymbia, Blakella and Angophora (Walker and Bertus 1971;Bertus and Walker 1974;Simpson 2000, Pegg et al 2008.…”

Sporotrichosis from the Northern Territory of Australia

“…Quambalaria cyanescens is a basidiomycetous plant pathogen, 29 which has undergone a number of taxonomic reassignments including, previously, Sporothrix cyanescens and Fugomyces cyanescens. 30,31 There are no human case reports of the isolation of Q. cyanescens from human specimens or as a cause of human pathology.…”

“…Treatment duration of at least 12 months is recommended for osteoarticular infections. 29 In conclusion, sporotrichosis needs to be considered as a differential diagnosis in patients from Australia's Northern Territory, alongside better known local endemic pathogens, which can cause sporotrichoid lesions (Nocardia spp.) or fixed cutaneous lesions non-responsive to conventional antibiotics (melioidosis, chromoblastomycosis, and cryptococcosis).…”