MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION OF THE CAUSAL AGENT OF THE GLADIOLUS DRIER (Gladiolus grandiflorus HORT

Abstract

The objective of this study was the molecular characterization of the causal agent of the gladiolus drier (Gladiolus grandiflorus Hort). In Villa Guerrero, Estado de México, sick gladiolus plants were collected and isolates of the Fusarium genus were obtained to produce monospore cultures; the conidia were stored in glycerol 25 % at -70 °C, and for their molecular characterization the extraction of nucleic acids was made with the Cenis (1992) protocol. For the polymerase chain reaction, the elongation factor gene and the gene that codifies for calmoduline were used. The sequences obtained were compared with F. sterilihyphosum, F. circinatum, F. pseudocircinatum and F. mexicanum, because they share the character of rolled hyphae. F. oxysporum and F. oxysporum f. sp. gladioli were used because of their antecedents in the crop. The phylogenetic analysis was carried out for maximum parsimony and maximum authenticity, observing that the Fusarium species isolated from gladiolus was not associated with any of the other species, which were grouped according to their morphological and molecular characteristics, suggesting that the organism isolated is an unreported new species of Fusarium.