Mango malformation disease caused by Fusarium neocosmosporiellum in Mexico.

Mango malformation disease caused by Fusarium spp. is one of the main limiting factors for mango production in Mexico. Fungal isolates obtained from symptomatic tissue from mango trees in Sinaloa, Mexico, were subjected to phylogenetic analysis of the TEF-1α gene, and evaluated for mating type, morphological markers and pathogenicity. Fifteen monosporic Fusarium isolates were identified as Fusarium neocosmosporiellum O'Donnell & Geiser. Phylogenetic analysis confirmed that the sequence obtained in this study corresponds to F. neocosmosporiellum. All 15 isolates were found to be pathogenic, but no differences were observed in aggressiveness among the isolates, which may be a result of low genetic variability within the fungal population. According to the morphological and molecular results, this study confirmed that the causal agent of mango malformation disease was F. neocosmosporiellum. This is the first report of mango malformation disease caused by this fungus in Mexico. This study provides a basis for the development and implementation of an integrated management system for this disease, confirms a new location of this fungus, and highlights that this pathogen is a potential threat to mango cultivation in Mexico. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]