Diversity and Pathogenicity of Fusarium temperatum Scaufl. & Munaut causing Fusarium ear rot of maize (Zea mays L.) in major maize growing agroecosystems of Ethiopia

Maize (Zea mays L.) is widely grown in Ethiopia under diverse agro-climatic conditions and it is a critical food security crop in the country. However, maize Fusarium ear rot (FER) disease caused by Fusarium species; primarily by F. proliferatum (Matsushima) Nirenberg, F. subglutinans (Wollenweber &...

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Main Authors: Deressa, Temesgen, Girma Adugna, Mahabaleswara, Suresh L., Zelalem Bekeko, Vaughan, Martha, Opoku, Joseph
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Springer 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/175809
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author Deressa, Temesgen
Girma Adugna
Mahabaleswara, Suresh L.
Zelalem Bekeko
Vaughan, Martha
Opoku, Joseph
author_browse Deressa, Temesgen
Girma Adugna
Mahabaleswara, Suresh L.
Opoku, Joseph
Vaughan, Martha
Zelalem Bekeko
author_facet Deressa, Temesgen
Girma Adugna
Mahabaleswara, Suresh L.
Zelalem Bekeko
Vaughan, Martha
Opoku, Joseph
author_sort Deressa, Temesgen
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Maize (Zea mays L.) is widely grown in Ethiopia under diverse agro-climatic conditions and it is a critical food security crop in the country. However, maize Fusarium ear rot (FER) disease caused by Fusarium species; primarily by F. proliferatum (Matsushima) Nirenberg, F. subglutinans (Wollenweber & Reinking) Nelson, and F. verticillioides (Saccardo) Nirenberg is one of the main sources of yield reduction and mycotoxin contamination. During 2020–2021, the FER of maize was assessed on the farmer’s field in western major maize growing belts of Western Ethiopia. Morphological and microscopic observations were made to identify the pathogen associated to the ear rot of maize. Molecular characterization of the pathogen was also made. A portion of the translation elongation factor 1-α (TEF1-α) was amplified using primers EF1 (ATGGGTAAGGARGACAAGAC) and EF2 (GGARGTACCAGTSATCATG) and bidirectionally sequenced using primers EF3 (GTAAGGAGGASAAGACTCACC) and EF22i (AGGAACCCTTACCGAGCTC), and two non-contiguous fragments of the RNA polymerase II subunit (RPB2). BLAST queries were also performed in Fusarium-ID. The comparison of the sequence with established reference sequences; NRRL 13,291 and CBS 138,287 revealed 100% sequence identity with F. temperatum isolates. A phylogenetic tree was constructed with concatenated sequences of the two genes. Pathogenicity test was conducted by inoculating healthy maize ears with F. temperatum macro-conidia suspension. Koch’s postulates were fulfilled by the pathogen (F. temperatum) re-isolation and identification. Hence, the morphological and molecular characterization of the pathogen revealed that the identified pathogen was F. temperatum.
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spelling CGSpace1758092025-10-26T12:55:08Z Diversity and Pathogenicity of Fusarium temperatum Scaufl. & Munaut causing Fusarium ear rot of maize (Zea mays L.) in major maize growing agroecosystems of Ethiopia Deressa, Temesgen Girma Adugna Mahabaleswara, Suresh L. Zelalem Bekeko Vaughan, Martha Opoku, Joseph fusarium maize molecular characterization agroecosystems pathogenicity Maize (Zea mays L.) is widely grown in Ethiopia under diverse agro-climatic conditions and it is a critical food security crop in the country. However, maize Fusarium ear rot (FER) disease caused by Fusarium species; primarily by F. proliferatum (Matsushima) Nirenberg, F. subglutinans (Wollenweber & Reinking) Nelson, and F. verticillioides (Saccardo) Nirenberg is one of the main sources of yield reduction and mycotoxin contamination. During 2020–2021, the FER of maize was assessed on the farmer’s field in western major maize growing belts of Western Ethiopia. Morphological and microscopic observations were made to identify the pathogen associated to the ear rot of maize. Molecular characterization of the pathogen was also made. A portion of the translation elongation factor 1-α (TEF1-α) was amplified using primers EF1 (ATGGGTAAGGARGACAAGAC) and EF2 (GGARGTACCAGTSATCATG) and bidirectionally sequenced using primers EF3 (GTAAGGAGGASAAGACTCACC) and EF22i (AGGAACCCTTACCGAGCTC), and two non-contiguous fragments of the RNA polymerase II subunit (RPB2). BLAST queries were also performed in Fusarium-ID. The comparison of the sequence with established reference sequences; NRRL 13,291 and CBS 138,287 revealed 100% sequence identity with F. temperatum isolates. A phylogenetic tree was constructed with concatenated sequences of the two genes. Pathogenicity test was conducted by inoculating healthy maize ears with F. temperatum macro-conidia suspension. Koch’s postulates were fulfilled by the pathogen (F. temperatum) re-isolation and identification. Hence, the morphological and molecular characterization of the pathogen revealed that the identified pathogen was F. temperatum. 2025-09 2025-07-25T17:04:29Z 2025-07-25T17:04:29Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/175809 en Limited Access Springer Deressa, T., Adugna, G., Suresh, L. M., Bekeko, Z., Vaughan, M., & Opoku, J. (2025). Diversity and Pathogenicity of Fusarium temperatum Scaufl. & Munaut causing Fusarium ear rot of maize (Zea mays L.) in major maize growing agroecosystems of Ethiopia. Indian Phytopathology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42360-025-00867-w
spellingShingle fusarium
maize
molecular characterization
agroecosystems
pathogenicity
Deressa, Temesgen
Girma Adugna
Mahabaleswara, Suresh L.
Zelalem Bekeko
Vaughan, Martha
Opoku, Joseph
Diversity and Pathogenicity of Fusarium temperatum Scaufl. & Munaut causing Fusarium ear rot of maize (Zea mays L.) in major maize growing agroecosystems of Ethiopia
title Diversity and Pathogenicity of Fusarium temperatum Scaufl. & Munaut causing Fusarium ear rot of maize (Zea mays L.) in major maize growing agroecosystems of Ethiopia
title_full Diversity and Pathogenicity of Fusarium temperatum Scaufl. & Munaut causing Fusarium ear rot of maize (Zea mays L.) in major maize growing agroecosystems of Ethiopia
title_fullStr Diversity and Pathogenicity of Fusarium temperatum Scaufl. & Munaut causing Fusarium ear rot of maize (Zea mays L.) in major maize growing agroecosystems of Ethiopia
title_full_unstemmed Diversity and Pathogenicity of Fusarium temperatum Scaufl. & Munaut causing Fusarium ear rot of maize (Zea mays L.) in major maize growing agroecosystems of Ethiopia
title_short Diversity and Pathogenicity of Fusarium temperatum Scaufl. & Munaut causing Fusarium ear rot of maize (Zea mays L.) in major maize growing agroecosystems of Ethiopia
title_sort diversity and pathogenicity of fusarium temperatum scaufl munaut causing fusarium ear rot of maize zea mays l in major maize growing agroecosystems of ethiopia
topic fusarium
maize
molecular characterization
agroecosystems
pathogenicity
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/175809
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