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Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum haplotype B (CLsoB) is an economically important pathogen of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) crops in New Zealand and Central and North America. Currently, resistant cultivars of tomato are not available as a management tactic because breeding programmes lack sources of resistance. Therefore, the objective of this study was to identify sources of resistance in tomato to CLsoB. Forty‐six landraces of tomato were collected from several states in Mexico and were inoculated with CLsoB using 20 infested adults of Bactericera cockerelli per plant. Two assays were done over two years under greenhouse conditions. In the first trial, landraces FC22 and FC44 showed a significantly higher proportion of resistant plants, less symptom severity and longer incubation time compared with the other forty‐four landraces and two susceptible cultivars. In the second assay, resistance to CLsoB of the landraces FC22 and FC44 was confirmed because they had again significantly greater numbers of resistant plants, less symptom severity, relative lower CLsoB titers and longer incubation time relative to the other genotypes. All plants considered resistant from both assays had DNA of CLsoB. Results indicate that all resistant plants from these landraces are promising sources for the development of tomato cultivars with resistance to CLsoB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Se estudió bajo condiciones controladas en invernadero el índice de atracción de adultos y preferencia de oviposición de Bemisia tabaci Mediterranean en ocho poblaciones criollas (Solanum lycopersicum) y catorce poblaciones silvestres (S. lycopersicum var. cerasiforme) de tomate, así como la relación de estos parámetros de resistencia tipo antixenosis con la densidad de tricomas no-glandulares que son características que pueden prevenir la infestación de este insecto. Cinco poblaciones silvestres y tres criollas mostraron una resistencia alta, y tres poblaciones criollas y una silvestre tuvieron una resistencia intermedia. El resto de las poblaciones y un cultivar comercial fueron altamente susceptibles porque fueron significativamente más atraídos por los adultos y preferidos para la oviposición de este insecto, indicando que existen diferentes niveles de resistencia tipo antixenosis. El número de tricomas no-glandulares no se correlacionó con ninguno de los parámetros de resistencia, indicando que no existe relación entre estos parámetros y que la resistencia observada en estos genotipos puede ser debida a otros factores como compuestos volátiles que repelen a este insecto. Estas poblaciones de tomates con diferentes niveles de resistencia tipo antixenosis pueden utilizarse para producir cultivares de tomate menos atractivas para la infestación de este insecto y como barreras físicas que rodeen los cultivos de tomate para repeler las infestaciones de B. tabaci Mediterranean. The index of attraction of adults and oviposition preference index of Bemisia tabaci Mediterranean in eight landraces populations (Solanum lycopersicum) and 14 wild populations (S. lycopersicum var. cerasiforme) of tomato was studied under greenhouse conditions, as well as the relationship of these parameters of antixenosis resistance with the density of non-glandular trichomes that are a trait that can prevent infestations of this insect. Five wild and three landraces tomato populations showed high resistance, and three landraces and one wild populations had intermediate resistance. Other populations and a commercial cultivar were very susceptible because they were significantly more attractive for adults and preferred them for oviposition. The results indicate that there are different levels of antixenosis resistance in these tomato populations. The number of non-glandular trichomes did not correlate with any of the resistance parameters, indicating there is no relationship between these parameters and that the resistance observed in these genotypes may be due to other factors such as volatile compounds that repel this insect. These tomato populations with different levels of antixenosis-type resistance can be used to generate less attractive tomato cultivars for this insect and as physical barriers that surround tomato crops to repel B. tabaci Mediterranean infestations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fusarium species cause macular diseases in the maize that induce rotting of stems, roots and grains of corn and finally the death of the plant. In the present study, the presence and diversity of Fusarium species associated with these damages in Sinaloa was molecularly identified. During the sowing periods in the years 2013-2014, stem and root tissue from young and adult plants, as well as diseased pod kernels, was collected in the municipalities of Ahome, Culiacan and Elota in the state of Sinaloa. In this investigation, species F. verticillioides, F. oxysporum, F. subglutinans, F. equiseti, F. nygamai, F. cf. bullatum and F. andiyazi, were identified by enzymatic sequencing analysis, where F. verticilloides was the most predominant species. Likewise, the presence in Mexico of Fusarium cf. bullatum causing damage to corn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new disease on greenhouse pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) plants in Culiacan, Mexico with symptoms of chlorosis, wilting and vascular necrosis was observed in 2014. Sixty diseased pepper plants were collected from three different areas of the Culiacan Valley to determine the causal agent of the disease and analyse the potential risk presented by this disease in this region. Fusarium oxysporum was recovered consistently (88% of samples collected) and identified based on cultural, morphological and pathogenicity tests, as well as by PCR amplification and DNA sequencing of the TEF-1α gene. Two pathogenicity tests with 10 monoconidial isolates of F. oxysporum, which were selected randomly from diseased tissues, produced disease symptoms similar to those observed on pepper plants in the greenhouses. Symptoms were different from the typical root rot, wilting and necrosis caused by F. solani and F. oxysporum f. sp. radicis-capsici and instead matched those reported for F. oxysporum f. sp. capsici causing pepper wilt. The results suggest that the causal agent of pepper wilt in the samples analysed was F. oxysporum. This is the first report of pepper wilt caused by this fungus in Mexico, and this disease is a potential threat for pepper production in this region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) is a major pest of the tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) crop worldwide, mostly because of resistance to insecticide that has been associated with endosymbionts. Although knowledge of biotypes in the B. tabaci complex and its endosymbionts is critical for developing pest management strategies, limited information is available on the pest in the Culiacan Province of Mexico. In total, 249 samples of whiteflies were collected from tomato plants of four growers in the Culiacan Valley to analyze the genetic identity of the B. tabaci complex and its endosymbionts. PCR and phylogenetic analyses on the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I gene (mtCO1) revealed MEAM1, MED, and indigenous genetic groups in 53, 19, and 28%, respectively, of B. tabaci on tomatoes. Individual whiteflies were examined for endosymbionts through specific primers and phylogenetic analyses on the 16S rRNA and the 23S rRNA genes. Incidence of Portiera, Hamiltonella, Rickettsia, Wolbachia, and Cardinium was 81, 46, 28, 9, and 13%, respectively, in the B. tabaci samples analyzed. A new bacterium-endosymbiont in the genus Orientia was found and described in 63% of the samples of B. tabaci. A mixture of the endosymbionts Rickettsia+UAS_511+Cardinium was observed in 10% of samples of B. tabaci MED, while in the MEAM1 biotype, a combination of Hamiltonella+UAS_511 was in 32% of the samples analyzed. The study highlights the diversity and distribution of B. tabaci and its endosymbionts throughout the Culiacan Province and provides evidence for control of the insect pest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]