Isolation and Pigment Investigation of Plant Pathogenic Algae Genus Cephalueros

Abstract

Algal leaf spot or red rust is a higher plant disease commonly caused by parasitic algae in the genus Cephaleuros (subaerial alga in the division Chlorophyta). The lesions found on the surface of infected plants result from algal colonies, which are usually rough, circular, raised and velvet in appearance. This algal infection is visible as an orange-rusty coloured patch. In this study, 6 isolates of pathogenic algae were obtained from 6 host plants, namely, pomelo, lime, disk staghorn, guava, mast tree and pomerac. A morphological investigation and partial analysis of 18S rRNA gene sequences indicated that all 6 algal isolates are members of the genus Cephaleuros. Isolation of those algae was initially performed on HSM to obtain pure cultures. Subsequently, all Cephaleuros isolates were transferred into Bristol medium. The growing algal filaments in the latter culture medium were found to have developed into a deep orange colour. The algal pigment investigation using ultra high performance liquid chromatography revealed that HSM culture contained lutein, chlorophyll b and ß-carotene, whereas Bristol culture contained only ß-carotene as the main pigment.