Abstract
Bupleurum chinense, commonly known as “chai hu,” is an herbaceous plant known for its medicinal properties and is distributed throughout China (Ke et al. 2020). In August 2025, root rot was observed on B. chinense plants in Handan (36.55°N, 113.26°E) , Hebei Province, China (incidence rate 65%), plants in 250 ha were observed to be severely affected by a disease, causing a yield loss of 65%. The irregular brown lesions appear on the root which cracks longitudinally and may extend into the xylem tissue. Severe cases result in rotting of the root phloem, leaving only black vascular bundles. To isolate the causal agent, tissues (5×5 mm) from four symptomatic plants were removed from the border of lesions, surface sterilized in 75% ethanol for 30 s and 0.1% HgCl2 for 1 min, then rinsed three times with sterile distilled water, plated on potato dextrose agar (PDA) at 25℃, and incubated in the dark for 7 days. Two representative isolates, 202501 and 202502, were cultivated on PDA. Macroconidia of the isolates had three to five septa, and were slender, thin-walled, relatively straight, apical cell were curved. Microconidia were club shaped with a flattened base and 0-septate. Aerial mycelium were found in chains of varying, but usually moderate, length, false heads, or aggregates of a few microconidia. Conidiogenous cells were monophialides and polyphialides (Leslie and summerell 2006). The translation elongation factor (TEF-1α), and partial RNA polymerase second largest subunit (RPB2) were amplified (accession nos. TEF-1α: PX061601 and RPB2: PX549684) (Crous et al. 2009). When compared with other Fusarium species in GenBank, the isolate exhibited 100% (TEF-1α, MH535857) and 100% (RBP2, MT305154) similarity with Fusarium proliferatum (query coverage=100%, per-centage identity=100%). A phylogenetic tree was constructed in MEGA software (version 11.0.10) (Tamura et al. 2021) using the partial concatenated gene sequences. Maximum likelihood analysis revealed that the isolates were closely related to F. proliferatum (99% bootstrap). To test pathogenicity, a conidial suspension of 202501 and 202502 with a concentration of 1×106 conidia/mL was inoculated on 36 plants per isolate. For the control treatment, 36 plants were treated with an equivalent volume of sterile water. The experiment was repeated three times. The plants were placed in a greenhouse from 26 to 30℃ and 95% relative humidity. The typical symptom were observed 10 days after inoculation, except on the control samples where no symptoms were observed. The same fungus was successfully reisolated from the symptomatic plant tissue and was reidentified as F. proliferatum through morphological characteristics, TEF-1α and RBP2 sequencing analysis (accession nos. TEF-1α: PX780488 and RPB2: PX780487), thereby fulfilling Koch’s postulates. While F. proliferatum has been reported to cause corn sheath rot in China (Xu et al. 2008), this is the first study to report that F. proliferatum can infect B. chinense in China. The finding is greatly significant for preventing and controlling root rot in B. chinense and reducing economic losses for farmers.
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Claims 7
Claim · model-written summary
Root rot affected B. chinense at 65% incidence in Handan, Hebei.
- Taxon
- B. chinense
Bupleurum chinensee0 - Outcome
- root rote0
- Value
- 65%e0
- Setting
- Handane0
Not reportedInteractorInteractor role
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“root rot was observed on B. chinense plants in Handan (36.55°N, 113.26°E) , Hebei Province, China (incidence rate 65%)”
Claim · model-written summary
The disease caused 65% yield loss in affected B. chinense plants.
- Taxon
- B. chinenseBupleurum chinensee1
- Outcome
- yield losse0
- Value
- 65%e0
- Setting
- Handane1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“plants in 250 ha were observed to be severely affected by a disease, causing a yield loss of 65%”
e1“B. chinense plants in Handan”
Claim · model-written summary
Affected B. chinense roots showed brown lesions, longitudinal cracks, xylem extension and severe phloem rot.
- Taxon
- B. chinenseBupleurum chinensee1
- Organ / stage
- roote0
- Outcome
- irregular brown lesionse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The irregular brown lesions appear on the root which cracks longitudinally and may extend into the xylem tissue. Severe cases result in rotting of the root phloem, leaving only black vascular bundles.”
e1“B. chinense plants”
Claim · model-written summary
The isolates were identified as F. proliferatum by sequence similarity and phylogenetic placement.
- Taxon
- Bupleurum chinenseBupleurum chinensee2
- Interactor
- Fusarium proliferatumFusarium proliferatume0pathogen
- Outcome
- similarity with Fusarium proliferatume0
- Value
- 100%e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the isolate exhibited 100% (TEF-1α, MH535857) and 100% (RBP2, MT305154) similarity with Fusarium proliferatum”
e1“the isolates were closely related to F. proliferatum (99% bootstrap)”
e2“Bupleurum chinense”
Claim · model-written summary
Inoculated B. chinense developed typical symptoms after 10 days, whereas water controls had none.
- Taxon
- B. chinenseBupleurum chinensee2
- Treatment
- a conidial suspension of 202501 and 202502e1
- Interactor
- Fusarium proliferatumFusarium proliferatume3pathogen
- Outcome
- typical symptome0
- Value
- 10 dayse0
- Comparator
- sterile watere1
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The typical symptom were observed 10 days after inoculation, except on the control samples where no symptoms were observed.”
e1“a conidial suspension of 202501 and 202502 with a concentration of 1×106 conidia/mL was inoculated on 36 plants per isolate. For the control treatment, 36 plants were treated with an equivalent volume of sterile water.”
e2“B. chinense plants”
e3“Fusarium proliferatum”
Claim · model-written summary
The same fungus was reisolated from symptomatic plants and reidentified as F. proliferatum.
- Taxon
- B. chinenseBupleurum chinensee1
- Interactor
- F. proliferatumFusarium proliferatume0pathogen
- Outcome
- successfully reisolatede0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The same fungus was successfully reisolated from the symptomatic plant tissue and was reidentified as F. proliferatum”
e1“B. chinense plants”
Claim · model-written summary
This is the first report of F. proliferatum infection of B. chinense in China.
- Taxon
- B. chinenseBupleurum chinensee0
- Interactor
- F. proliferatumFusarium proliferatume0pathogen
- Outcome
- F. proliferatum can infect B. chinensee0
- Setting
- Chinae0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“this is the first study to report that F. proliferatum can infect B. chinense in China”