<i>Pseudoperonospora cubensis</i> Causing Downy Mildew on <i>Luffa aegyptiaca</i> in Korea

Lee, Dong Jae; Choi, Young-Joon

doi:2024.30.3.278

Res. Plant Dis > Volume 30(3); 2024 > Article

Note

Research in Plant Disease 2024;30(3):278-282.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5423/RPD.2024.30.3.278 Published online September 30, 2024.

Pseudoperonospora cubensis Causing Downy Mildew on Luffa aegyptiaca in Korea

Dong Jae Lee¹

, Young-Joon Choi^1,2

¹Department of Biological Science, Kunsan National University, Gunsan 54150, Korea
²Center for Convergent Agrobioengineering, Kunsan National University, Gunsan 54150, Korea

Correspondence: Young-Joon Choi, Tel: +82-63-469-4582, Fax: +82-63-469-7421,
Email: yjchoi@kunsan.ac.kr

Received: August 09, 2024 Revised: September 05, 2024 Accepted: September 06, 2024

Abstract

In November 2021, sponge gourd (Luffa aegyptiaca) plants with typical downy mildew symptom were observed in Korea. Based on morphological characteristics of sporangiophores and sporangia, combined with molecular phylogenetic analysis of the internal transcribed spacer rDNA and cox2 mtDNA regions, the causal pathogen was identified as Pseudoperonospora cubensis (Oomycota). This is the first report of downy mildew caused by P. cubensis on L. aegyptiaca in Korea. Given that P. cubensis exhibits high disease incidence and severity on many Cucurbitaceae crops, it could pose a significant threat to sponge gourd cultivation.

Key Words: Cucurbitaceae, Oomycota, Sponge gourd