Pathogenicity of Stemphylium lycopersici isolated from rotted tobacco seeds on seedlings and leaves

A preemergence damping-off of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) was found in Fukuoka, Japan, in 2009. A fungus repeatedly isolated from the black-rotted seeds reproduced the symptoms in tobacco seeds, and the preemergence damping-off developed after flower and soil inoculation with the fungus. Brown spots and blight developed on leaves of tobacco seedlings after inoculation with the isolate. The fungus was reisolated from the rotted seeds and blighted leaves. The causal fungus was identified as Stemphylium lycopersici based on morphology and phylogenetic analysis. This is the first report to confirm the pathogenicity of S. lycopersici in tobacco in the world.