First Report of Ampelomyces quisqualis from Sycamore and Crape Myrtle and Its Potential as a Mycoparasite of Powdery Mildew

Abstract

During screening fungi as potential biological control agents for plant parasitic fungi, a fungal strain, EML-FAM3, was isolated from powdery mildew leaf lesions caused by Erysipheplatani on sycamore (Platanus occidentalis L.), and another strain,EML-FAMC1, from Erysipheaustraliana on crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica L.). Based on the morphological characteristics and phylogenetic analysis of the internal transcribed spacers (ITS1 and ITS2) and 5.8S rDNA, the strains were identified as Ampelomyces quisqualis To our knowledge, this is the first report of new mycohosts, E. platani and E. australiana, of the mycoparasite A. quisqualis on sycamore and crape myrtle plants. The hyperparasite may represent the potential for controlling E.platani and E. australiana epidemics.

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