Morphological and Molecular Diversity of Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) Pathogenic Fungi in Chilga District, North Gondar, Ethiopia

Abstract

Ginger diseases caused by fungal pathogens have become one of the most serious problems causing reduced production around the world. It has also caused a major problem among farmers in different parts of Ethiopia resulting in a huge decline in rhizome yield. However, the exact causative agents of this disease have not been identified in the state. Although there are few studies related to pathogenic fungus identification, molecular level identification of fungal pathogen was not done in the area. Therefore, this study was undertaken to isolate and characterized the fungal causative agent of ginger disease from the diseased plant and the soil samples collected around the diseased plant from Chilga district, Gondar, Ethiopia. Samples from infected ginger plants and the soil around the infected plant were collected. Culturing and purification of isolates were made using Potato Dextrose Agar supplemented with antibacterial agent chloramphenicol. The morphological characterization was done by structural identification of the isolates under the microscope using lactophenol cotton blue stains. Isolated fungi were cultured and molecular identification was done using an internal transcribed spacer (ITS) of ribosomal DNA (rDNA). A total of 15 fungal morphotypes including 11 Aspergillus spp. (73.3%), 2 Penicillium spp. (13.3%), and single uncultured fungus clone S23 were isolated from the samples representing all the plant organs and the soil. Aspergillus spp. (73.3%) was the most common and seems to be the major causative agent. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of ginger pathogenic fungi in Ethiopia identified using ITS rDNA molecular techniques. This study will lay foundation for the development of management strategies for fungal diseases infecting ginger.

Genetic diversity and pathogenicity of fungi associated with rice sheath rot in the Fogera plain, Northwest Ethiopia

“…A PCR product of approximately 570 bp were obtained from all the species using universal fungal primers (ITS1/ITS4) (Figure 2). Similar amplicon sizes were reported for PCR products using ITS1/ITS4 primer pairs in fungal diseases of ginger (Tilahun et al., 2022). In this study, the two most predominant isolates associated with rice sheath rot disease were P. herbarum and Phoma spp.…”

Bioactive Secondary Metabolites from Aspergillus fumigatus ON428521 Isolated from Wadi El Rayan, El Fayum Governorate

“…Using a DNeasy kit (Qiagen), the DNA was extracted and amplified using universal Primer sequences used for the identification of 18s rRNA in the current study, which were ITS4 (5'-TCC TCC GCT TAT TGA TAT GC-›3) and ITS5 (5'-GGA AGT AAA AGT CGT AAC AAG G-›3). Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed on the extracted DNA (Mohammed et al, 2021;Tilahun et al, 2022). The amplified PCR fragments were sequenced at the Regional Center for Mycology and Biotechnology using the Cy5 /Cy5.5 Dye Primer Sequencing kit from Visible Genetics Inc. for use with the Open Gene automated DNA sequencing system (Sanger et al, 1977;Tabor & Richardson, 1995).…”