Espécies de Fusarium causando podridão seca em frutos de pimenta malagueta na Zona da Mata Pernambucana

Abstract

Rots caused by species of the Fusarium genus are among the diseases that most limit the production and commercialization of fruits worldwide. Fusarium species present a wide global distribution and a high capacity to colonize a large number of hosts. The pepper plants of the genus Capsicum belong to the Solanaceae family. Capsicum spp. are native to the American continent, being among the oldest cultivated plants in the Americas. They present a diversified market due to the wide variety of products and by-products, uses and forms of consumption. The aim of this study was to identify which phytopathogenic agents are responsible for causing dry rot in chili pepper fruits in the Zona da Mata region of the State of Pernambuco. For this, samples of peppers showing symptoms of dry rot were collected in areas of cultivation in the municipalities of Primavera, Chã Grande and Vitória de Santo Antão, in Pernambuco, and taken to the Laboratory of Post-Harvest Pathology of the Federal Rural University of Pernambuco (LPPC-UFRPE) to be analyzed. From the samples collected in the field, 27 isolates were obtained. Using microscopic preparations, all isolates, through morphological comparisons, were identified at the genus level as Fusarium. Of these, 17 isolates were selected to be used in DNA extraction and, later, identified at the species level by analyzing the sequences of the TEF1 and RPB2 regions using Bayesian Inference. Concatenated analysis of the two gene regions grouped the isolates into four distinct species complexes: Fusarium incarnatum-equiseti species complex (FIESC), Fusarium lateritium species complex (FLSC), Fusarium chlamydosporum species complex (FCSC) and Fusarium fujikuroi species complex (FFSC). Subsequent analyzes grouped these isolates into clades of nine different species, with six species belonging to the FIESC (F. pernambucanum, F. sulawesiense, F. caatingaense, F. hainanense, F. citri and F. arcuatisporum), one species belonging to the FLSC (F. cassiae), one species belonging to the FCSC (F. chlamydosporum) and one isolate belonging to the FFSC (F. pseudocircinatum). All isolates identified at the species level were pathogenic in chili pepper fruits. The results obtained in this work may serve for the development of management strategies for this disease, avoiding losses caused by these phytopathogens.