Virulence not linked with vegetative compatibility groups in Australian cotton Verticillium dahliae isolates

Abstract

Verticillium dahliae, the causal agent of Verticillium wilt, is a soil-borne ascomycete that infects numerous agriculturally important crops globally, including cotton. As a billion-dollar industry, cotton is economically important to Australia and the management of disease such as Verticillium wilt is key for the success of the industry. Internationally, defoliating V. dahliae isolates belonging to Vegetative Compatibility Group (VCG) 1A cause severe damage to cotton, while non-defoliating VCG2A isolates result in significantly less disease. However, in Australia, VCG2A is causing more severe damage to crops in the field than the defoliating VCG1A. This study aimed to replicate field observations in controlled greenhouse conditions. We examined and compared disease symptoms on a range of Australian commercial cotton varieties when inoculated with different V. dahliae VCGs. Seedlings were root dipped in conidial suspensions and assessed over seven weeks. The final disease score, disease over time and root length were analysed. Plant mortality resulted from both V. dahliae VCG1A and VCG2A isolates across all cotton varieties used, confirming that there are virulent VCG2A isolates present in Australia. To our knowledge, although virulent on other plant hosts, V. dahliae VCG2A has not previously been reported to be highly virulent in cotton. We infer that virulence cannot be defined solely by VCG in Australian V. dahliae isolates causing disease in cotton.