Detection and identification of seed-borne fungi isolated from imported grass seeds

The 7 grass seed samples imported from 5 countries were analyzed for seed-borne fungi by Petri-dish testing. The samples included perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne), tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) and sudan grass (Sorghum sudanense) in 2014. The ITS (Internal transcribed spacer) segment was amplified using ITS4 and ITS5 as primers, then purified and sequenced. The ITS sequences obtained were blasted with known ITS sequences in database. The results showed that 48 fungal strains belonged to 21 species of 13 genera were isolated, and the seed-borne fungal species of seed samples were significantly different from each other. The fungal species were mainly Fusarium spp. Aspergillus spp., Phoma spp., and Alternaria spp.. According to the ITS phylogenetic tree, all fungi could be identified to genus, which were hard to species. Alternaria tenuissima, A. alternata, and A. arborescens couldn’t be separated. The study analyzed seed-borne fungi of imported grass seeds from 5 countries, and the ITS sequences were applied for seed-borne fungi of imported grass seeds preliminary detection and identification.