title: Phenotypic and phylogenetic segregation of Alternaria infectoria from small-spored Alternaria species isolated from wheat in Germany and Russia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To identify the taxonomic differences between phytopathogenic small-spored Alternaria strains isolated from wheat kernels in Germany and Russia by a polyphasic approach.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Ninety-five Alternaria (A.) strains were characterized by their colony colour, their three-dimensional sporulation patterns, mycotoxin production and phylogenetic relationships based on sequence variation in translation elongation factor 1-α (TEF1-α). The examination of toxin profiles and the phylogenetic features via TEF1-α resulted in two distinct clusters, in each case containing Alternaria infectoria isolates (92 and 96% respectively) in the first and the Alternaria alternata, Alternaria arborescens and Alternaria tenuissima isolates (77 and 79% respectively) in the other combined cluster. The production of Alternariol, Altertoxin and Altenuene has not been reported previously in the A. infectoria species group. The isolates from Germany and Russia differ slightly in species composition and mycotoxin production capacity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We identified that the A. infectoria species group can be differentiated from the A. alternata, A. arborescens and A. tenuissima species group by colour, low mycotoxin production and by the sequence variation in TEF1-α gene.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results allow a reliable toxic risk assessment when detecting different Alternaria fungi on cereals.
authors.affiliation: Leibniz-Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), Institute of Landscape Biogeochemistry, Müncheberg, Germany.|Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany.
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Kahl
authors.affiliation: Leibniz-Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), Institute of Landscape Biogeochemistry, Müncheberg, Germany.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ulrich
authors.affiliation: Novosibirsk State Agricultural University (NSAU), Novosibirsk, Russia.
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Kirichenko
authors.affiliation: Leibniz-Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), Institute of Landscape Biogeochemistry, Müncheberg, Germany.|Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: M E H
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Müller
mesh_terms: D000528:Alternaria / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D005858:Germany; D010641:Phenotype; D010802:Phylogeny; D012426:Russia; D013172:Spores, Fungal; D014908:Triticum / Q000382:microbiology*
keywords: Alternaria mycotoxins; Alternaria species group; TEF1-α; taxonomic classification; wheat