Molecular Identification of Fusarium Species Associated With Coffee Plantations in Bolivia

ABSTRACT

Fungal species associated with coffee and their pathogenic potential remain underexplored in Bolivia. This study aimed to investigate the diversity of Fusarium species associated with coffee in the Amazon basin of Caranavi province in the Yungas region of Bolivia and their ability to induce disease symptoms under controlled conditions. A total of 163 putative Fusarium isolates were recovered from symptomatic coffee leaves, fruits, stems and roots. Multilocus DNA barcoding and phylogenetic analyses based on the ITS, TEF1 and RPB2 loci identified seven Fusarium species across six species complexes. Members of the Fusarium oxysporum species complex (FOSC) were the most prevalent, followed by the Neocosmospora solani (synonym: Fusarium solani ) species complex (FSSC). Detached coffee leaves assay under in vitro conditions, and pot assay using coffee seedlings showed that isolates from FSSC and FOSC could induce necrotic lesions on detached leaves and/or root damage in seedlings. Marked variability in virulence was observed among isolates, ranging from highly virulent isolates affecting both leaves and seedlings to isolates with tissue‐specific or low virulence. This study provides the first molecular evidence of diversity within Fusarium species complexes associated with coffee in a previously explored region of Bolivia and demonstrates their potential to induce disease symptoms under controlled conditions. However, further studies under greenhouse and field conditions are required to validate their pathogenic potential in adult coffee plants.