FUNGI AND LICHENS IN THE BALTICS AND BEYOND XVIII ...

DO ENDOPHYTIC FUNGI OF TIMOTHY HAVE POTENTIAL FOR
BIOPROSPECTING
T. VARVAS, K. KASEKAMP
Department of Mycology, Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Estonian
University of Life Sciences, Riia 181, 51014 Tartu, Estonia
E-mails: triin.varvas@emu.ee, kristina.kasekamp@gmail.com
Timothy is a widespread perennial grass in North America and Europe, but has been
studied little in regard to its endophytic fungi. Research has demonstrated that several
endophytes produce compounds that inhibit a range of fungal pathogens of grasses or cause
toxicity in animals. Research up to date has shown that endophyte-infected timothy plants had
less leaf spot disease caused by Cladosporium phlei and stem rust caused by Puccinia
graminis when compared with endophyte-free plants (Sampson, 1933; Greulich et al., 1999;
Tajimi, 1990). There is little known about fungal metabolites of timothy. In this presentation
an overview is given of the metabolites that may have an effect on fungal pathogens or
animals.
In our study, 58 endophyte strains were obtained using morphological and molecular
methods from the 60 timothy plants and ten fungal taxa were identified: Epicoccum nigrum,
Alternaria arbusti, Lewia viburni, Apiospora montagnei, Aureobasidium pullulans, Fusarium
sporotrichioides, Gibberella avenacea, Paraphaeosphaeria michotii, Phaeosphaeria
herpotrichoides and Monographella sp. Fast advances in modern spectrometry allow rapid
and complex analyses of metabolites. Preliminary study on metabolites from identified
timothy endophytes is given using GC-MS analyzer from pure culture.
MONITORING OF FUNGAL DISEASES IN BLUEBERRY COMMERCIAL FIELDS
IN LATVIA
L. VILKA, R. RANCANE, J. VOLKOVA*, M. EIHE, A. BAZHENOVA
Latvian Plant Protection Research Centre, Struktoru Str. 14a, LV-1039 Riga, Latvia
*E-mail: julija.volkova@laapc.lv
The diversity of blueberry fungal pathogens and their distribution in commercial fields
in Latvia has been investigated since 2009, to reveal the main fungal diseases in the blueberry
fields. The first observation was done in 2009, when 14 commercial blueberry plantations
were surveyed in all territory of Latvia. Samples of damaged leaves, stems and rotted berries
were collected during survey. From the leaves and berries fungi were isolated directly on the
isolation plates and detected by comparing morphological characteristics from descriptions in
the literature. Further observations were done in the next years, to follow up the main
problems, which were found out during survey.
Botrytis cinerea was isolated in seven plantations, from berries, and also from
damaged shoots and leaves. In 2010 and 2011 significant flowers damages of Botrytis cinerea
were observed in the particular plantations. During storage about 30−70% of berries became
rotted. Colletotrichum sp. was found in 3 plantations, and in one of them it caused significant
losses of berries, during storage about 80% of berries became rotted. Wilting of new shoots
was also associated with the infection of Colletotrichum sp. Quarantine pathogen Phomopsis
vaccinii was found in 13 from 14 observed plantations. In 2009 Phomopsis vaccinii was
isolated just from dead shoots, but in 2010, during hot weather conditions, also from berries,
but infection level was not high. Fusicoccum putrefaciens (Godronia canker) is the main