Teleomorph Formation of Phaeoacremonium aleophilum, Cause of Esca and Grapevine Decline in California

Phaeoacremonium is a recently described genus of the hyphomycetes and includes species associated with grapevine (Vitis vinifera) declines worldwide. Spores of Phaeoacremonium spp. have been trapped in infested vineyards, but neither asexual nor sexual fruiting structures have been observed in the field. Mating studies were carried out to determine if California P. aleophilum isolates are capable of forming a teleomorph in vitro. Sterilized grapevine shavings were placed on the surface of water agar plates with pairs of different California isolates of P. aleophilum, an isolate from the holotype of P. aleophilum, plus other related Phaeoacremonium spp. After approximately 28 to 35 days, perithecia were seen forming on wood chips and agar of many pairings. Upon maturation, fertile perithecia had gelatinous droplets of ascospores oozing from their ostioles. Successful crosses, resulting in mature perithecia, corresponded to a heterothallic mating type system. When F₁ progeny were backcrossed with their parents, heterothallism was confirmed. Molecular analyses of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the nuclear ribosomal DNA from ascospore progeny and perithecia confirmed that these perithecia were the teleomorph of P. aleophilum, Togninia minima. Furthermore, 4 months after moist incubating grapevine pieces from naturally infected vineyards, mature perithecia of T. minima could be seen forming on the xylem and pith tissues, suggesting both mating types occur on the same vine.