Botrytis and other fungal pathogens of peonies

Andrea Rys Garfinkel

Surveys were conducted over a 4-year period to identify Botrytis and other fungal plant pathogens of peonies in the United States. A total of 12 states were represented in the surveys, with the majority of sampling taking place in Alaska, Oregon, and Washington. Up to 14 Botrytis species were found associated with peonies including B. cinerea, B. paeoniae, and B. pseudocinerea, all of which have previously been reported on peonies. As many as nine previously undescribed Botrytis species may be present on peonies, three in Washington and six in Alaska, as determined by phylogenetic analysis. Of the total Botrytis isolates collected in Alaska, 37% were species that have not previously been reported on peonies. One of the new Botrytis species identified on peonies in Alaska was also found on withered grapes in Italy and was formally described as B. euroamericana. The source of this and other novel Botrytis species found on peonies is unclear, however, there was no evidence to suggest movement of these species to Alaska with rootstock. Peony farms surveyed in rootstock production areas in Washington, Oregon, and The Netherlands did not contain the same diversity that is present in Alaska. In addition to Botrytis, surveys revealed 10 other fungal genera on peonies that have never before been reported in the state in which they were found, including five genera which are first reports in the United States. Graphiopsis chlorocephala was found to be an important pathogen of peonies in many of the areas surveyed in the United States. Other fungi found infecting peonies in the United States for the first time included: Mycocentrospora acerina, Pilidium concavum, multiple Colletotrichum spp., a Phoma sp., and a Botryosphaeria sp. Lastly, a suite of 16 B. paeoniae-specific microsatellite markers were developed using an Ion Proton next-generation sequencing platform for use in future population genetics studies. Successful microsatellite discovery and primer design using assembled reads from the Ion Proton was comparable to using an Illumina-sequenced B. paeoniae genome. This study represents one of the first times that the Ion Proton platform has been used successfully for microsatellite discovery in fungi.

Botrytis and other fungal pathogens of peonies

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