Papers by sabrina sarrocco
A highly pathogenic strain of F. oxysporum f.sp. dianthi (Fod) has been transformed with genes co... more A highly pathogenic strain of F. oxysporum f.sp. dianthi (Fod) has been transformed with genes coding for Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) and Red Fluorescent Protein (DsRedFP). Expression of GFP and DsRedFP resulted in bright green or red cytoplasmic fluorescence of mycelium when excited by fluorescent light. Stable transformants, selected on the basis of brightness and stability of fluorescence, were inoculated on roots of a partially resistant cultivar of carnation. Root and vessel colonization was evaluated, at regular times, by fluorescent microscopic observation of plant tissue sections.
Isolations of onygenalean fungi were made recently from different dung samples from Italy. A stri... more Isolations of onygenalean fungi were made recently from different dung samples from Italy. A striking snowwhite species with gymnothecial ascomata, developed in damp chamber on dormouse dung collected in a cave, was subjected to keratinolytic tests and morphological, cultural, and phylogenetic studies. The keratinolytic ability of this species, associated with a Chrysosporium anamorph and a sexual state of appendiculate reticuloperidia and oblate ascospores, allows it to be accomodated in Onygenaceae. White ascomata, blunt or subcapitate peridial appendages, pitted ascospores, and tuberculate conidia suggest it to be a new Neogymnomyces, and this was confirmed by parsimony analyses of LSU and ITS nrDNA sequences. Following recent phylogenetic analyses, the morphological and physiological features of order Onygenales and its families are reexamined and discussed. After the introduction of a new species, Neogymnomyces is reviewed and compared with all other genera in Onygenaceae. The Chrysosporium imperfect state of Neogymnomyces virgineus is described and compared to the anamorph of N. demonbreunii. It is also compared to the atypical Chrysosporium merdarium and to several other Chrysosporium species with echinulate to verrucose-tuberculate conidia, isolated from guano, dung, and nitrogen-rich soils in caves. The onygenalean fungi isolated from any kind of dung are discussed and their facultative coprophily ascribed to variable faecal contents of keratin or other degradable substances. A key to the families and genera of the Onygenales is provided.
Mycotaxon -Ithaca Ny-
An ascolocular ascomycete with semi-immersed, hairy and pyriform pseudothecia, abundant pseudopar... more An ascolocular ascomycete with semi-immersed, hairy and pyriform pseudothecia, abundant pseudoparaphyses, fissitunicate 8-spored asci, and dark, very large 8-celled ascospores has been isolated from deer dung in Andalusia (Spain). Based on morphological features, a new species is erected and accommodated in Sporormiella, which the authors regard as a genus independent of Preussia. The new species is discussed and placed in a key, and a previous worldwide key to Sporormiella species with 8-celled spores is updated.
JOURNAL OF PLANT PATHOLOGY
Fusarium Head Blight (FHB) is one of the most economically devasting disease of wheat, causing lo... more Fusarium Head Blight (FHB) is one of the most economically devasting disease of wheat, causing losses in yield and quality due to the presence of Fusarium damaged kernels and their associated mycotoxins such as the trichothecene deoxynivalenol (DON). Biological control, including treatment of crop residues with antagonists, alone or in combination in a multitrophic approach, to reduce pathogen inoculum of FHB, holds considerable promise. Trichoderma gamsii 6085 has been selected for its ability to grow in presence of DON and to reduce "in vitro" growth and mycotoxin production by F. graminearum and F. culmorum. Pythium sp. SC1-14a has been investigated for its antagonistic and competitive ability against FHB causal agents. When tested in a field trial as biocontrol agents on wheat, either as soil or spikelets inoculant, both antagonists were able to reduce the FHB incidence. DON and other trichothecenes were at very low levels in control plots, so no information on mycotoxins reduction by the antagonists are available.
JOURNAL OF PLANT PATHOLOGY
Fragaria × ananassa (common name: strawberry) is a globally cultivated hybrid species belonging t... more Fragaria × ananassa (common name: strawberry) is a globally cultivated hybrid species belonging to Rosaceae family. Colletotrichum acutatum sensu lato(s.l.) is considered to be the second most economically important pathogen worldwide affecting strawberries. A collection of 148 Colletotrichum spp. isolates including 67 C. acutatum s.l. isolates associated with the phytosanitary history of UK strawberry production were used to characterize multilocus genetic variation of this pathogen in the UK, relative to additional reference isolates that represent a worldwide sampling of the diversity of the fungus. The evidence indicates that three different species C. nymphaeae, C. godetiae and C. fioriniae are associated with strawberry production in the UK, which correspond to previously designated genetic groups A2, A4 and A3, respectively. Among these species, 12 distinct haplotypes were identified suggesting multiple introductions into the country. A subset of isolates was also used to compare aggressiveness in causing disease on strawberry plants and fruits. Isolates belonging to C. nymphaeae, C. godetiae and C. fioriniae representative of the UK anthracnose pathogen populations showed variation in their aggressiveness. Among the three species, C. nymphaeae and C. fioriniae appeared to be more aggressive compared to C. godetiae. This study highlights the genetic and pathogenic heterogeneity of the C. acutatum s.l. populations introduced into the UK linked to strawberry production.
JOURNAL OF PLANT PATHOLOGY
Due to the reduction of peat in ornamental substrates, great attention is focusing on setting up ... more Due to the reduction of peat in ornamental substrates, great attention is focusing on setting up new and innovative substrates for this market. In the present work, Trichoderma spp. isolates were selected for endophytism and plant growth promotion in Limonium sinuatum, Cupressus sempervirens and Camelia sinensis. 10 isolates (out of 162) for Limonium, 9 (out of 162) for Cupressus and 8 (out of 202) for Camelia resulted endophytic in roots. From a successive rounds of inoculation three Trichoderma isolates, among which T2046 was in common for all the tested species, confirmed the best endophytic performance and improved growth. In addition, the antagonistic activity of selected strains against fungal plant pathogens as Botrytis cinerea, Colletotrichum gloeospoidoides and Rhizoctonia solani has been evaluated. The three Trichoderma isolates, and first of all T2046, could be taken into account as inoculants for innovative substrates for ornamental plants.
JOURNAL OF PLANT PATHOLOGY
PloS one, 2015
Fragaria × ananassa (common name: strawberry) is a globally cultivated hybrid species belonging t... more Fragaria × ananassa (common name: strawberry) is a globally cultivated hybrid species belonging to Rosaceae family. Colletotrichum acutatum sensu lato (s.l.) is considered to be the second most economically important pathogen worldwide affecting strawberries. A collection of 148 Colletotrichum spp. isolates including 67 C. acutatum s.l. isolates associated with the phytosanitary history of UK strawberry production were used to characterize multi-locus genetic variation of this pathogen in the UK, relative to additional reference isolates that represent a worldwide sampling of the diversity of the fungus. The evidence indicates that three different species C. nymphaeae, C. godetiae and C. fioriniae are associated with strawberry production in the UK, which correspond to previously designated genetic groups A2, A4 and A3, respectively. Among these species, 12 distinct haplotypes were identified suggesting multiple introductions into the country. A subset of isolates was also used to c...
FEMS Microbiology Ecology, 2001
The genetic diversity of soil-borne populations of Fusarium oxysporum was assessed using 350 isol... more The genetic diversity of soil-borne populations of Fusarium oxysporum was assessed using 350 isolates collected from six different French soils. All isolates were characterised by restriction fragment analysis of the PCR-amplified ribosomal intergenic spacer (IGS). Twenty-six IGS types were identified among the 350 isolates analysed. Five to nine different IGS types were detected in each soil. None of the IGS types was common to all of the soils. An analysis of the molecular variance based on IGS type relationships and frequency revealed that the genetic structure of the populations of F. oxysporum varied widely among the soils. Some populations were both highly diverse within the soils and differentiated between the soils. A possible relationship between the intrapopulation or interpopulation level of diversity and some external factors such as the soil type or the crop history was evaluated. A subsample representative of the diversity of the six populations was further characterised by analysing the genomic distribution of two transposable elements, impala and Fot1. One to 10 copies of the impala element were present in most of the isolates, irrespective of their soil of origin. The Fot1 element was only detected in 40% of the isolates originating from the three populations less diverse in terms of IGS types, but in 82.6% of the isolates originating from the three more diverse populations. ß
Genome Biology and Evolution, 2015
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Mycological Research, 2006
Mycoparasites Sclerotinia Sclerotium a b s t r a c t The gfp gene from the jellyfish Aequorea vic... more Mycoparasites Sclerotinia Sclerotium a b s t r a c t The gfp gene from the jellyfish Aequorea victoria, coding for the Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP), was used as a reporter gene to transform a Trichoderma virens strain I10, characterized as having a promising biocontrol activity against a large number of phytopathogenic fungi. On the basis of molecular and biological results, a stable GFP transformant was selected for further experiments. In order to evaluate the effects of GFP transformation on mycoparasitic ability of T. virens I10, sclerotia of Sclerotium rolfsii, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and S. minor were inoculated with the T. virens strain I10 GFP transformant or the wild type strain. Statistical analysis of percentages of decayed sclerotia showed that the transformation of the antagonistic isolate with the GFP reporter gene did not modify mycoparasitic activity against sclerotia. Sclerotium colonization was followed by fluorescent microscopy revealing intracellular growth of the antagonist in the cortex (S. rolfsii) and inter-cellular growth in the medulla (S. rolfsii, and S. sclerotiorum). The uniformly distributed mycelium of T. virens just beneath the rind of sclerotia of both S. rolfsii and S. sclerotiorum suggests that the sclerotia became infected at numerous randomly distributed locations without any preferential point of entry. a v a i l a b l e a t w w w . s c i e n c e d i r e c t . c o m j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w . e l s e v i e r . c o m / l o c a t e / m y c r e s m y c o l o g i c a l r e s e a r c h 1 1 0 ( 2 0 0 6 ) 179 -187
FEMS Microbiology Letters, 2003
The recently reported red fluorescent protein DsRed from the reef coral Discosoma sp. represents ... more The recently reported red fluorescent protein DsRed from the reef coral Discosoma sp. represents a new marker that has been codonoptimized for high expression in mammalian cells. To facilitate expression of DsRed in ascomycete fungi, we used the clone pDsRed-Express (Clontech) for constructing a plasmid vector, pPgpd-DsRed, containing the constitutive Aspergillus nidulans glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate (gpd) promoter. This vector was used for co-transformation of Penicillium paxilli, Trichoderma harzianum and Trichoderma virens (syn. Gliocladium virens) together with either pAN7-1 or gGFP, both containing a gene for hygromycin resistance for transformant selection. In addition, gGFP contains a green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene for expression in Ascomycetes. Expression of DsRed-Express was obtained in all three fungi, indicating that DsRed can be used as a highly effective vital marker in Ascomycetes. Dual marked transformants expressed both DsRed-Express and GFP in the same mycelium and were used for non-quantitative comparison of the intensity of the fluorescence using confocal laser scanning microscopy.
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Papers by sabrina sarrocco