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Genetic differentiation and spatial structure of Geosmithia morbida, the causal agent of thousand cankers disease in black walnut (Juglans nigra)

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Abstract

The main objectives of this study were to evaluate genetic composition of Geosmithia morbida populations in the native range of black walnut and provide a better understanding regarding demography of the pathogen. The fungus G. morbida, and the walnut twig beetle, Pityophthorus juglandis, have been associated with a disease complex of black walnut (Juglans nigra) known as thousand cankers disease (TCD). The disease is manifested as branch dieback and canopy loss, eventually resulting in tree death. In 2010, the disease was detected in black walnut in Tennessee, and subsequently in Virginia and Pennsylvania in 2011 and North Carolina in 2012. These were the first incidences of TCD east of Colorado, where the disease has been established for more than a decade on indigenous walnut species. A genetic diversity and population structure study of 62 G. morbida isolates from Tennessee, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Oregon was completed using 15 polymorphic microsatellite loci. The results revealed high haploid genetic diversity among seven G. morbida populations with evidence of gene flow, and significant differentiation among two identified genetic clusters. There was a significant correlation between geographic and genetic distance. Understanding the genetic composition and demography of G. morbida can provide valuable insight into recognizing factors affecting the persistence and spread of an invasive pathogen, disease progression, and future infestation predictions. Overall, these data support the hypotheses of two separate, highly diverse pathogen introductions into the native range of black walnut.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the United States Department of Agriculture-ARS (Grant number 58-6404-1-637), United States Forest Service (Grant number 13-DG-11083150-033) and United States Forest Service-Special Technology Development Program (Grant numbers 13-DG-11083150-039) for financial support. The authors thank independent reviewers for their comments and suggestions for manuscript improvement. Special thanks to undergraduate research assistants Dixie Daniels and Matthew Aldrovandi for their laboratory help, and Dana Rhodes (Department of Agriculture, PA), Richard Baird (Mississippi State University) and Qunkang Cheng (University of Tennessee) for collecting and obtaining additional samples for our study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, University of Tennessee, 2431 Joe Johnson Dr., Knoxville, TN, 37996-4560, USA

    Denita Hadziabdic, Lisa M. Vito, Mark T. Windham & Robert N. Trigiano

  2. Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Oregon State University, 1089 Cordley Hall, Corvallis, OR, 97331-2903, USA

    Jay W. Pscheidt

  3. Laboratory of Fungal Genetics and Metabolism, Institute of Microbiology of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Videnska 1083, 142 20, Prague 4, Czech Republic

    Miroslav Kolarik

Authors
  1. Denita Hadziabdic
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  2. Lisa M. Vito
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  3. Mark T. Windham
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  4. Jay W. Pscheidt
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  5. Robert N. Trigiano
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  6. Miroslav Kolarik
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Correspondence to Denita Hadziabdic.

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Communicated by S. Hohmann.

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Hadziabdic, D., Vito, L.M., Windham, M.T. et al. Genetic differentiation and spatial structure of Geosmithia morbida, the causal agent of thousand cankers disease in black walnut (Juglans nigra). Curr Genet 60, 75–87 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00294-013-0414-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00294-013-0414-x

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