Abstract

RATTALINO, D. L; OTERO, M. L; MORICONI, D. N  and  C.RIVERA, P. Improved detection of the non-defoliant pathotype of Verticillium dahliae in olive trees using nested PCR. Agriscientia [online]. 2021, vol.38, n.1, pp.111-120. ISSN 1668-298X.  http://dx.doi.org/10.31047/1668.298x.v38.n1.28985.

Olive growing is affected by a syndrome that causes wilt in the tree top. One of the main microorganisms accountable for this disease is the fungus Verticillium dahliae, which causes verticillium wilt (VW). Two pathotypes are distinguished within V dahliae, defoliating (D) and non-defoliating (ND), depending on symptom severity. The pathogen is generally diagnosed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Our objective was to compare the efficiency of two sets of primers in detecting the ND pathotype in olive plants, the only pathotype found in Argentina, by nested PCR. For this purpose, the commonly used primer combination NDf/NDr - INTND2f/INTND2r (PCR-I) and a new combination, INTNDf/INTNDr - INTND2f/INTND2r (PCR-II), were evaluated. Samples of symptomatic olive trees from 39 commercial fields from La Rioja province were analyzed. PCR-II had higher detection efficiency than PCR-I (57.8 % and 16.7 %, respectively). PCR-II amplified in almost all the olive cultivars, plant ages and VW disease severity levels, whereas PCR-I detected the fungus only in very susceptible cultivars and in trees with low VW severity levels. The use of PCR-II for the detection of V dahliae in olive plants will provide more accurate incidence results and will contribute to a proper management of VW.

Keywords : verticillium wilt; molecular diagnosis; Olea europaea.

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