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Toxin production by melon root rot fungus, Monosporascus cannonballus

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Abstract

A study was conducted on the possible in vitro production of phytotoxins by the melon root rot pathogen, Monosporascus cannonballus. The culture filtrate of a highly virulent isolate of the fungus was tested for its phytotoxic activity on cucumber by detached leaf assay, electrolyte leakage assay and seedling vigour test. In detached leaf bioassay, necrotic symptoms developed on cucumber leaves 5–7 days after application of the culture filtrate. The culture filtrate of M. cannonballus caused substantial reduction in seed germination, vigor of cucumber seedlings and an increase in electrolyte leakage from leaf tissues compared to the control. Studies on the effect of heat and dialysis on the phytotoxic activity of the culture filtrate revealed that the toxic metabolites are thermostable and have low molecular weight (<14 kDa). To purify the toxin, the culture filtrate was extracted with different solvents which were then tested separately for their phytotoxicity. The results revealed that the water fraction after extraction with chloroform retained the highest phytotoxic activity. The toxin was partially purified by thin layer chromatography (TLC) and the fluorescent compound eluted with an Rf value of 0.6 was analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) technique. Mass spectral analysis revealed the presence of two metabolites viz., octocrylene and squalene in the toxin fraction.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Ms. Huda Khlafan Al-Ruqaishi, Central Analytical Laboratory, College of Agricultural and Marine Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat for her help in GC-MS analysis. Thanks to SQU for financial support through the projects IG/AGR/CROP/18/01, IG/AGR/CROP/16/03 and EG/AGR/CROP/16/01.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Crop Sciences, College of Agricultural and Marine Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, PO Box 34, Al-Khoud, Muscat, 123, Sultanate of Oman

    Amna Yaqoob Al-Rawahi, Issa Hashil Al-Mahmooli, Abdullah Mohammed Al-Sadi & Rethinasamy Velazhahan

  2. Central Analytical Laboratory, College of Agricultural and Marine Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, PO Box 34, Al-Khoud, Muscat, 123, Sultanate of Oman

    Jamal Nasser Al-Sabahi

Authors
  1. Amna Yaqoob Al-Rawahi
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  2. Issa Hashil Al-Mahmooli
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  3. Abdullah Mohammed Al-Sadi
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  4. Jamal Nasser Al-Sabahi
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  5. Rethinasamy Velazhahan
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rethinasamy Velazhahan.

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This article is original and not published elsewhere. All authors discussed the results, read and approved the final manuscript. The authors confirm that there are no ethical issues in publication of the manuscript.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Supplementary Table 3

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Supplementary Table 4

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Supplementary Table 5

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Supplementary Fig. 1

Necrotic lesion produced by the partially purified toxin (Rf 0.6) from the culture filtrate of M. cannonballus on detached cucumber leaf (JPG 48 kb)

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Al-Rawahi, A.Y., Al-Mahmooli, I.H., Al-Sadi, A.M. et al. Toxin production by melon root rot fungus, Monosporascus cannonballus. Australasian Plant Pathol. 47, 543–546 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13313-018-0589-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13313-018-0589-1

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