Fungi from Galleries of the Emerald Ash Borer Produce Cankers in Ash Trees

The emerald ash borer (EAB, <i>Agrilus planipennis</i>) is a devastating invasive pest that has killed millions of ash trees in the United States and Canada. EAB was discovered in the US in 2002 and first reported in Minnesota in 2009. It attacks ash trees that are native to the United S...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:
Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Nickolas N. Rajtar, Benjamin W. Held, Robert A. Blanchette
Formato: article
Lenguaje:EN
Publicado: MDPI AG 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://doaj.org/article/e7dd65afca2446f1b17b6fc2802c6f57
Etiquetas: Agregar Etiqueta
Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!
Descripción
Sumario:The emerald ash borer (EAB, <i>Agrilus planipennis</i>) is a devastating invasive pest that has killed millions of ash trees in the United States and Canada. EAB was discovered in the US in 2002 and first reported in Minnesota in 2009. It attacks ash trees that are native to the United States, including <i>Fraxinus americana</i> (white ash), <i>F. nigra</i> (black ash) and <i>F. pennsylvanica</i> (green ash). It also attacks <i>Chionanthus virginicus</i> (white fringe tree). Seven species of fungi isolated and identified only from EAB-infested trees in a previous study as having the potential to cause cankers were used to test their pathogenicity in <i>F. americana</i> (white ash). The fungi used were <i>Cytospora pruinosa</i>, <i>Diplodia mutila</i>, <i>Diplodia seriata</i>, <i>Paraconiothyrium brasiliense</i>, <i>Phaeoacremonium minimum</i>, <i>Phaeoacremonium scolyti</i>, and <i>Thyronectria aurigera</i>. Two field experiments that used <i>F. americana</i> used two inoculation methods: woodchip and agar plug inoculations. Results indicated that all of the fungi tested caused cankers in varying amounts, as compared to the controls. The largest cankers were caused by <i>D. mutila</i> (270 mm<sup>2</sup>), <i>C. pruinosa</i> (169 mm<sup>2</sup>), and <i>D. seriata</i> (69 mm<sup>2</sup>). All fungi except for <i>T. aurigera</i> were re-isolated and sequenced to confirm Kochs’ postulates. Canker-causing fungi found in association with EAB galleries have the potential to contribute to tree dieback and mortality.