First report of Aspergillus ochraceus on potato tubers in Tajikistan

Potato tubers with dark and dry spots on the peel were found after being stored in a potato storage facility in Tajikistan for ten weeks. Cutting a tuber revealed cavities up to 10 mm in diameter, filled with pale beige mycelium. Sequencing the ribosomal gene regions, calmodulin, β-tubulin and the second largest subunit of RNA polymerase II showed that the isolated strain was Aspergillus ochraceus G. Wilh. The species was confirmed by cultural and morphological observations. When a tuber was artificially infected by injecting a conidial suspension, the fungus caused tissue infection and bore spores in the infected tuber parts. The spores from the artificially infected slice and the tuber were plated in the Petri dish with CYA medium. The colonies which grew in the dishes were completely identical to the colonies of the original strain. To the best of our knowledge this is the first report on finding plant pathogenic A. ochraceus on potato tubers. © 2025 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.