''Didymella rabiei'', commonly called chickpea ascochyta blight fungus, is a

fungal plant pathogen Plant pathology (also phytopathology) is the scientific study of diseases in plants caused by pathogens (infectious organisms) and environmental conditions (physiological factors). Organisms that cause infectious disease include fungi, oomy ...

of chickpea. ''Didymella rabiei'' is the

teleomorph In mycology, the terms teleomorph, anamorph, and holomorph apply to portions of the life cycles of fungi in the phyla Ascomycota and Basidiomycota: *Teleomorph: the sexual reproductive stage (morph), typically a fruiting body. *Anamorph: an asex ...

of ''Ascochyta rabiei'', which is the anamorph, but both names are the same species.

Names

The specific epithet ''rabiei'' refers to or 'rabies of chickpea', a name for the disease. The disease is also referred to as ascochyta blight but there are other fungal species that cause diseases in other

pulse In medicine, a pulse represents the tactile arterial palpation of the cardiac cycle (heartbeat) by trained fingertips. The pulse may be palpated in any place that allows an artery to be compressed near the surface of the body, such as at the n ...

species that also go by that term. It also goes by the name blight of chickpea. In French it is called ( lit. 'chickpea

anthracnose A plant canker is a small area of dead tissue, which grows slowly, often over years. Some cankers are of only minor consequence, but others are ultimately lethal and therefore can have major economic implications for agriculture and horticultur ...

') or ('chickpea ascochyta'). In

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

it is referred to as (anthracnose: chickpea'). It is called ('garbanzo ascochyta') or ('rabies of garbanzo') in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

Signs and symptoms

Once ascochyta blight has infected a healthy chickpea plant, it will start to develop lesions on all aerial plant parts. If a seed pod becomes infected, it may initially be asymptomatic, but will eventually develop dark lesions on the surface of the seed coats.

Description

''D. rabiei'' has a spherical punctiform and membranous pyrenium, at first lutescent then opening to a rounded black ostiole. It has numerous elliptical and hyaline spores or varying size. The fungus survives within the infected crop debris from the previous growing season. It requires the infected debris, because it does not produce resting spores that allow it to survive in the soil during the winter. When surviving in crop debris, it typically lasts longer if exposed to drier conditions. When both compatible mating types of the fungus are present, it is able to develop a pseudothecia that produces airborne spores. These airborne spores play a major role in the dispersal of the pathogen.

Hosts

''D. rabiei'' is known for infecting cultivated annual chickpea ('' Cicer arietinum''), but also commonly infects other wild perennial chickpea species such as '' Cicer monbretti'', '' Cicer ervoides'', '' Cicer judaicum'', and '' Cicer pinnatifidum''. Other host species include: * dog fennel (''

Anthemis cotula ''Anthemis cotula'', also known as stinking chamomile, or mayweed, is a flowering annual plant with a noticeable and strong odor. The odor is often considered unpleasant, and it is from this that it gains the common epithet "stinking". In pre-co ...

'') * alfalfa (''

Medicago sativa Alfalfa () (''Medicago sativa''), also called lucerne, is a perennial flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae. It is cultivated as an important forage crop in many countries around the world. It is used for grazing, hay, and silage, as w ...

'') * pea (''

Pisum sativum The pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the flowering plant species ''Pisum sativum''. Each pod contains several peas, which can be green or yellow. Botanically, pea pods are fruit, since they contain seeds and d ...

'') * Berseem clover (''

Trifolium alexandrinum ''Trifolium alexandrinum'' (Egyptian clover, berseem clover) is an annual clover cultivated mostly in irrigated sub-tropical regions, and used as leguminous crop. It is an important winter crop in Egypt, where it may have been cultivated since an ...

'') * wheat (''

Triticum aestivum Common wheat (''Triticum aestivum''), also known as bread wheat, is a cultivated wheat species. About 95% of wheat produced worldwide is common wheat; it is the most widely grown of all crops and the cereal with the highest monetary yield. Ta ...

'') * faba bean (''

Vicia faba ''Vicia faba'', commonly known as the broad bean, fava bean, or faba bean, is a species of vetch, a flowering plant in the pea and bean family Fabaceae. It is widely cultivated as a crop for human consumption, and also as a cover crop. Varieti ...

'') * hairy tare ('' Vicia hirsuta'') * cowpea (''

Vigna unguiculata The cowpea (''Vigna unguiculata'') is an annual herbaceous legume from the genus ''Vigna''. Its tolerance for sandy soil and low rainfall have made it an important crop in the semiarid regions across Africa and Asia. It requires very few inputs ...

'')

Proper management practices

The most important way to protect susceptible crops from this pathogen is to use resistant cultivars when planting. However, this disease has multiple mating types, and may lead to pathogen resistance if the same cultivars are repeatedly used. To add to this, there are a number of cultural practices that can help reduce the vigor of ''D. rabiei''. These include, but are not limited to: using certified disease free seed, rotation to new crops every 2 or 3 years, and planting in wide rows with adequate spacing.

Effects on aquafaba

A chemical analysis of

aquafaba Aquafaba () is the viscous water in which legume seeds such as chickpeas have been cooked. Due to its ability to mimic functional properties of egg whites in cooking, aquafaba can be used as a direct replacement for them in some cases, inclu ...

indicated that a number of proteins in a particularly well-performing batch were found to be versions from ''D. rabiei'', specifically tRNA (cytosine-5-)-methyltransferase, o-acyltransferase,

oxidoreductase In biochemistry, an oxidoreductase is an enzyme that catalyzes the transfer of electrons from one molecule, the reductant, also called the electron donor, to another, the oxidant, also called the electron acceptor. This group of enzymes usually u ...

histone H3 Histone H3 is one of the five main histones involved in the structure of chromatin in eukaryotic cells. Featuring a main globular domain and a long N-terminal tail, H3 is involved with the structure of the nucleosomes of the 'beads on a stri ...

, and

histone H2B Histone H2B is one of the 5 main histone proteins involved in the structure of chromatin in eukaryotic cells. Featuring a main globular domain and long N-terminal and C-terminal tails, H2B is involved with the structure of the nucleosomes. Str ...

. It is unclear how much of an effect these proteins have on the properties of aquafaba.

References

External links

USDA ARS Fungal Database
{{Taxonbar, from=Q82921 Fungal plant pathogens and diseases Fungi described in 1867 Leaf diseases Pulse crop diseases