© Benaki Phytopathological Institute
Abstracts - 16th Hellenic Phytopathological Congress
9
in shape and size to those formed in the pyc-
nidia on the cankers; cylindrical with round-
ed ends, hyaline and unicellular, in some
cases two-celled and darker upon maturity,
rarely three-celled, (24-34 x 12-17 μm). The
identity of
D. corticola
was confirmed by se-
quencing the ITS1 and ITS2 regions of the
rDNA and comparison with known sequenc-
es of the fungus. Two isolates of
D. corticola
were used in inoculation tests on branches
of kermes and holm oak trees and the fun-
gus was re-isolated from the cankers as well
as from pycnidia formed on the inoculated
branches.
First report of potato wart disease caused by
Synchytrium endobioticum
(Schilb.) Perc. in Greece: detection, impacts and pathotype identification
Ι. V
LOUTOGLOU
1
, G.C.M.
VAN
L
EEUWEN
2
, Η. E
LEFTHERIADIS
3
, Ι. S
ARIGKOLI
3
, Κ.Β. S
IMOGLOU
3
, D.
T
SIROGIANNIS
1
and D. G
ILPATHI
4
1
Benaki Phytopathological Institute, Department of Plant Pathology, Laboratory
of Mycology, 8 St. Delta Str., GR-145 61 Kifissia, Athens, Greece.
2
National Reference
Centre, National Plant Protection Service, PO Box 9102, 6700 HC, Wageningen, The
Netherlands.
3
Region of Eastern Macedonia & Thrace, Regional Unit of Drama,
Rural Economy & Veterinary Directorate, Department of Quality and Phytosanitary
Control, Dioikitirion, GR-661 00 Drama, Greece.
4
Ministry of Rural Development and
Food, Directorate General of Plant Produce, Directorate of Plant Produce Protection,
150, Sygrou Avenue, GR-176 71 Athens, Greece
Potato wart disease, caused by the quaran-
tine fungus
Synchytrium endobioticum,
was
detected for the first time in Greece in two
potato (
Solanum tuberosum
L.) fields in the
Perithori region (Kato Nevrokopi, Region-
al Unit of Drama) during the 2011 official
surveys. The disease exhibited typical wart
symptoms on stolons and tubers with some
of the latter being largely converted into
warts. Pest identification was based on the
EPPO diagnostic protocol PM 7/28 (1). Phy-
tosanitary measures are being implement-
ed in the area in compliance with the EU
Council Directive 69/464/EEC. The potato
crops grown on the infested fields were de-
stroyed, the fields were designated as infest-
ed and a safety zone, allowed to be plant-
ed only with potato cultivars resistant to the
pathotype present, was defined around the
infested area. In October 2011, wart mate-
rial, collected from the two infested fields,
was sent to the NPPO of the Netherlands
(National Reference Centre, Wageningen),
where tests were performed for pathotype
identification. The wart material of the two
fields was separately composted and the re-
sulting ‘compost’ (inoculum) was used for
Spieckermann tests with the following dif-
ferential potato cultivars: cv. Markies (sus-
ceptible to all pathotypes), Producent, Del-
cora, Saphir, Miriam and Belita. Based on
the resistant reaction of cvs Saphir and Be-
lita and the susceptible reaction of cvs Mar-
kies, Producent, Delcora, and Miriam, it was
concluded that pathotype 18(T1) is present
in both fields. In the present work, the im-
pact of the presence of
S. endobioticum
in
the area is also discussed.
Development of a quantitative PCR method to differentiate between
viable and nonviable cells of plant pathogenic fungi using propidium
monoazide (PMA)
M.-D. T
SOLAKIDOU
, Ι.S. P
ANTELIDES
, L. K
ANETIS
and D. T
SALTAS
Department of Agricultural Sciences, Biotechnology and Food Science, Cyprus
University of Technology, 3603 Limassol, Cyprus
