The key difference between Alternaria brassicae and Alternaria brassicicola is that Alternaria brassicae is a fungal plant pathogen that infects plants belonging to the genus of Brassica and roses, while Alternaria brassicicola is a fungal plant pathogen that infects plants only belonging to the genus of Brassica.
Alternaria brassicae and Alternaria brassicicola are two fungal plant pathogens that cause diseases specifically to plants of the genus Brassica such as cabbage, cauliflower, etc. However, they cause different diseases. Both these species belong to the fungal genus Alternaria. The species in this genus are mainly fungal plant pathogens and allergens for humans. The species in this fungal genus grow indoors and cause hay fever or hypersensitivity reactions. Sometimes, these allergic reactions can lead to asthma as well.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Alternaria Brassicae
3. What is Alternaria Brassicicola
4. Similarities – Alternaria Brassicae and Alternaria Brassicicola
5. Alternaria Brassicae vs Alternaria Brassicicola in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Alternaria Brassicae vs Alternaria Brassicicola
What is Alternaria Brassicae?
Alternaria brassicae is a fungal plant pathogen that belongs to the genus Alternaria. It is able to infect most Brassica species, including important crops such as broccoli, cabbage, and oil seed grape. In younger plants, this species causes more severe damping off, while in older plants, it causes less severe leaf spot symptoms. A. brassicae produces a number of toxins called destruxins, which are toxic to plants from a number of genera of dicotyledons. This species affects host species at all stages of growth, including the seed stage.
Figure 01: Alternaria brassicae
The conidiophores of A. brassicae produce asexual spores, which are around 160-200 µm long in size. Normally, in this fungal species, proper sporulation occurs between the temperatures of 8 to 24oC. Mature spores develop after 24 to 14 hours. The optimum temperatures for the sporulation process are between 16 and 24oC. Moreover, the time taken to complete sporulation ranges from 12 to 14 hours for this species. Furthermore, A. brassicae can be controlled by crop rotation, using resistance varieties, fungicides, and use of biological control (Streptomyces arabicus).
What is Alternaria Brassicicola?
Alternaria brassicicola is a fungal plant pathogen that belongs to the genus Alternaria. It predominantly affects species of Brassica. A. brassicicola mainly causes damage to Cole plants such as broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, and Chinese cabbage. A. brassicicola sporulates normally in a temperature range of 8 to 30oC. Their spores are around 100-200 µm long in size. The mature spores develop after 14 and 43 hours for this species, respectively. Moreover, optimum temperatures for proper sporulation range between 18 and 30oC for this species.
Figure 02: Alternaria Brassicicola
The time period taken to complete the sporulation for A. brassicicola is 13 hours. Furthermore, it also contributes to various respiratory allergic conditions, such as asthma and rhinoconjunctivitis in humans. The infection of this fungal species can be treated through pre-treatment of seeds with fungicides such as Iprodione and Strobilurins, biological control through antagonistic fungi such as Aureobasidium pullulans and Epicoccum nigrum, use of plants such as plants C. fenestratum and Piper betle, the active compound a, and ethanol extracts from the dried roots of Solanum nigrum.
What are the Similarities Between Alternaria Brassicae and Alternaria Brassicicola?
- A. brassicae and A. brassicicola are two fungi of the genus Alternaria.
- Both species are plant pathogens mainly affecting plants of the genus Brassica.
- They tend to grow in moist and damp environments.
- They affect host species at all stages of growth, including the seed stage.
- These species mainly reproduce sexually by making conidia.
- Both species are able to cause plant disease called black spot leaf disease.
What is the Difference Between Alternaria Brassicae and Alternaria Brassicicola?
A. brassicae is a fungal plant pathogen that infects plants belonging to the genus of Brassica and roses, while A. brassicicola is a fungal plant pathogen that infects plants that only belong to the genus of Brassica. Thus, this is the key difference between Alternaria brassicae and Alternaria brassicicola. Furthermore, A. brassicae has a genome of approximately 3.4 Mbp in size. On the other hand, A. brassicicola has a genome of approximately 3.1 Mbp in size.
The infographic below presents the differences between Alternaria brassicae and Alternaria brassicicola in tabular form for side by side comparison.
Summary – Alternaria Brassicae vs Alternaria Brassicicola
Alternaria is a genus of Deuteromycetes fungi. There are about 299 species in the genus. A. brassicae and A. brassicicola are two fungal plant pathogens belonging to this genus. A. brassicae and A. brassicicola can affect host species at all stages of growth, including seeds. Both these species are the major plant pathogens that cause black spot leaf disease in plants. However, A. brassicae is a fungal plant pathogen that is responsible for black spot leaf disease on plants belonging to the genus of Brassica and roses. On the other hand, A. brassicicola is a fungal plant pathogen responsible for black spot leaf disease on plants that only belong to the genus of Brassica. So, this summarizes the difference between Alternaria brassicae and Alternaria brassicicola.
Reference:
1. “Alternaria Brassicae – An Overview.” ScienceDirect Topics.
2. Nowakowska, Marzena, et al. “Alternaria Brassicicola – Brassicaceae Pathosystem: Insights into the Infection Process and Resistance Mechanisms under Optimized Artificial Bio-Assay – European Journal of Plant Pathology.” SpringerLink.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Alternaria brassicicola conidia2” By Seemadua, S. Department of Agriculture, Thailand – at PaDIL (CC BY 3.0 au) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “
tps://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=23279947″>Alternaria brassicae (Berk.) Sacc. Symptoms on cabbage” By Agronom – Own work (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia