Effect of Culture Parameters of Light Intensity and Nutrients on Germination of Alternaria Solani Conidia
M. Das, S. Brahmachari, A. Saha, and S. Kundu. International Journal of Emerging Science and Engineering (IJESE)5
(10):
22-27 (December 2018)
The necrotrophic pathogen Alternaria solani fsp. Lycopersici is an important pathogen for solanaceous crops and is cultured in laboratories for various purposes. The production of spores in culture under optimum conditions is very different from that occurring in the natural environment. Therefore it is important to optimize various culture conditions to understand the effect these conditions have on the spores of the fungus. Most studies focus on sporulation rather than spore germination and growth of the germ tubes. This study investigates the effect of different culture conditions such as light intensities, darkness and presence of nutrients on spore germination and germ tube length over a time course in A. solani. Here, we observed that the germination is delayed in dark in comparison to when incubation is done in presence of light. Light appears to affect the growth of germ tubes more significantly compared to germination frequency of the spores. The implication of the findings, in the context of germination of fungi in presence of nutrients is also discussed