Natural occurrence of the mycoparasite Ampelomyces quisqualis (Ascomycota, Phaeosphaeriaceae) in urban environments from Tucumán (Argentina)

CASTILLO, LUCAS A.; SUÁREZ, GUILLERMO M.

Lilloa

Fundación Miguel Lillo

Año: 2023 vol. 2 p. 349 - 356

Platanus × acerifolia is used as an urban shade tree in many cities throughout Argentina.In late autumn and winter of 2023, leaves and fruits of P. × acerifolia showingtypical symptoms of a powdery mildew were collected along the main streets ofTucumán, Argentina. Its morphology and comparison with published descriptionsallowed us to identify the fungus as the asexual morph of Erysiphe platani. Thespecimens were heavily hyperparasitized by Ampelomyces quisqualis, a mycoparasiticascomycete, used as a natural biological control of the development of powderymildew species. This work reports the natural occurrence of Ampelomyces in urbanenvironments in Argentina. The disease symptoms and morphological characteristicsof the powdery mildew anamorph and the mycoparasite are described and illustrated.