We describe for the first time the diagnosis of Schizophyllum commune infection in a captive cheetah. Eosinophilic plasmacytic conjunctivitis was detected histopathologically in a biopsy specimen. Both a second surgical specimen and drainage fluid from a gingival mass and fistula contained fungal hyphae in giant cells with granulomatous inflammation. Allergic S. commune mycosis was suspected at this point. A monokaryotic isolate was characterized morphologically, and then identified genetically. Treatment with itraconazole and pimaricin was effective.

Molds are vegetable microorganisms, which differ from dermatophytes sensitive to griseofulvin, and from yeasts, which do not form aerial mycelium. Most of the molds, phytopathogenic or which live from dead organic substances, are apathogenic to humans. Only a couple of dozen species can parasitize on the skin, usually together with dermatophytes or yeasts. Onychomycoses with molds appear mostly in elderly people, and fungus affections of external auditory passage in seborrheic eczema of the ear. The hair can be infected by Piedraia hortae, resulting in hard black nodules. After the identification of molds on the skin, criticism is necessary, since in more than 95% of the cases they are accidental germs. Several cultures and microscopic tests are necessary to assure the diagnosis. Broad-spectrum antimycotics is the predominant choice for treatment, but also amphotericin B, nystatin and pimaricin.

Investigations have been carried out in order to clarify the antibiotic susceptibility determination of yeasts. 291 yeast strains of different species were tested for sensitivity to 7 antimycotics: amphotericin B, flucytosin, nystatin, pimaricin, clotrimazol, econazol and miconazol. Additionally to the evaluation of inhibition zone diameters and MIC-values the influence of pH was examined. 1. The dependence of inhibition zone diameters upon pH-values varies due to the antimycotic tested. For standardizing purposes the pH 6.0 is proposed; moreover, further experimental parameters, such as nutrient composition, agar depth, cell density, incubation time and -temperature, have to be normed. 2. The relation between inhibition zone size and logarythmic MIC does not fit a linear regression analysis when all species are considered together. Therefore regression functions have to be calculated selecting the individual species. In case of the antimycotics amphotericin B, nystatin and pimaricin the low scattering of the MIC-values does not allow regression analysis. 3. A quantitative susceptibility determination of yeasts--particularly to the fungistatical substances with systemic applicability, flucytosin and miconazol, -- is advocated by the results of the MIC-tests.

Inhibition of uncontrolled mold growth on three types of raw cured Italian dry salami was studied under commercial production conditions. Salami were dipped or sprayed with natamycin (pimaricin) or were given a combined organic acid-plus-potassium sorbate treatment. Acetic and citric acids potentiated the inhibitory effects of potassium sorbate significantly, but lactic and succinic acids showed little or no effect. Treatment of salami by dipping in 2.5% (wt/vol) potassium sorbate or 2,000 ppm (mg/liter) of pimaricin did not successfully prevent the growth of surface molds. At 10% potassium sorbate on all types of salami and at 2.5% sorbate on Casalingo salami, visual inhibition of mold growth was observed, but numbers of viable fungi on all salami types treated with 2.5% sorbate were not significantly (95% confidence) different from numbers found in the untreated controls. Pimaricin spray (2 X 1,000 ppm) was as good as or slightly better than 2.5% potassium sorbate, but greater concentrations of each were required to satisfactorily inhibit surface mold growth during the 25- to 50-day ripening period.

As one of the most planted crops worldwide, corn has continuously increased in importance in China over the last decade. But in recent years, poor stands of corn seedlings have occurred frequently in northeastern China, causing significant economic loss. Mature plants were stunted, the roots were necrotic, and some plants collapsed. We collected soil samples from 5 fields with a history of poor stands of corn seedlings in the Heilongjiang province of China in October 2017. After being planted in the collected soil for 12 days, corn seedlings were uprooted. The pathogen was then isolated as described by Tang et al. (2019). Briefly, the rotted roots were washed in 0.5% NaOCl for 2 min, rinsed in sterile water, and then cut into 1-2 mm segments and placed on cornmeal agar amended with pimaricin (5 μg/ml), ampicillin (250 μg/ml), rifampicin (10 μg/ml), pentachloronitrobenzene (50 μg/ml), and benomyl (10 μg/ml) (PARP+B), which is selective for oomycetes (Jeffers and Martin 1986). After 3 days of incubation in the dark at 25℃, colonies were transferred to 10% V8 juice agar or potato dextrose agar (PDA) and grown for 7 days at 25℃. Based on morphological characteristics, one putative isolate (COPS) was identified as P. sylvaticum (Campbell and Hendrix 1967). On PDA, the culture (COPS) produced creamy white and floccus mycelium. P. sylvaticum (COPS) produced hyphal swellings, but no oogonia or zoospore. Hyphal swellings were globose, terminal, or intercalary, ranging from 12.22-18.55 μm diam. Sequence analysis was performed with the cytochrome c oxidase subunit Ⅱ (COⅡ) gene amplified with primers FM35/FM52 (Martin 2000) and the rDNA ITS amplified with primers DC6/ITS4 (Cooke et al. 2000). For COⅡ gene, BLAST analyses of the 773 bp segments showed 97.93% identity with P. sylvaticum isolate (GenBank Accession No. GU222164.1). For the ITS, BLAST analyses of the 880 bp segments showed 99.89% identity with P. sylvaticum isolate (GenBank Accession No. KY084736.1). Both sequences were submitted to GenBank with accession numbers MK648400 and MK606071 for COⅡ and ITS, respectively. For pathogenicity tests, similar to that described by Ling et al. (2018), four 9-cm petri plates containing 20 mL of 10% V8 juice agar were inoculated with an agar plug (5 mm diam) obtained from a 7-day-old P. sylvaticum culture (COPS) grown on 10% V8 juice agar and then incubated at 25℃ in the dark for 7 days. Nine corn seeds were placed on each plate, after which the plates were filled with 50 g sterilized organic peat substrate. For the controls, seeds were placed on non-inoculated plates of 10% V8 juice agar and filled with 50 g sterilized organic peat substrate. Four replications were inoculated. Plates were maintained in a greenhouse at 23℃. After 14 days, similar symptoms as to those observed in the field were present in the greenhouse, whereas control plants remained symptomless. P. sylvaticum (COPS) was re-isolated from diseased roots as described above, thus confirming Koch's postulates. To our knowledge, this is the first report of P. sylvaticum on corn in China. This pathogen may pose a risk to corn production. The identification of the pathogen will help to develop effective strategies to control the disease.

Keywords: Causal Agent; Crop Type; Field crops; Oomycetes; Pythium; cereals and grains.

Pokeweed (Phytolacca decandra, synonym Phytolacca americana) is a root perennial plant that produces a succulent annual stem. In late June 2001, a severe dieback occurred on a group of pokeweed plants being grown as ornamentals in a garden in Rome. Disease symptoms consisted of leaf wilting followed by collapse of the plant. Stem collars and roots had dark brown-to-black water-soaked lesions. A wet rot was observed on plants with advanced disease symptoms. Isolations, from sections of roots and stems previously washed in running tap water, were made on PARBhy selective medium (10 mg of pimaricin, 250 mg of ampicillin [sodium salt], 10 mg of rifampicin, 50 mg of hymexazol, 15 mg of benomyl, 15 g of malt extract, and 20 g of agar in 1,000 ml of H2O) (2), followed by incubation at 20°C. A species of Phytophthora identified based on morphological and cultural characteristics (1) was isolated consistently from rotted roots and collars of diseased plants. All isolates produced papillate, spherical, ovoid to obturbinate, noncaducous sporangia and terminal and intercalary chlamydospores. Hyphal swellings with hyphal outgrowths were present. Observed characteristics were similar to those described for P. nicotianae. Isolates were mating type A2 with amphigynous antheridia in paired cultures with the A1 tester isolate of P. nicotianae. Identification was confirmed by comparing restriction fragment length polymorphism patterns of the internal transcribed spacer region of ribosomal DNA with those obtained from previously identified Phytophthora species. Pathogenicity tests were conducted on 10 2-month-old potted pokeweed plants. Inoculum was prepared by inoculating sterilized millet seeds moistened with V8 broth with plugs of mycelium and growing for 4 weeks. The inoculum was added to potting soil at 3% (wt/vol), and sporulation was induced by flooding the soil for 48 h. Five uninoculated plants were used as controls. Plants were maintained outdoors and assessed for symptoms within 2 months after inoculation. Wilting, root rot, and dark brown lesions on the collar developed on inoculated plants. The pathogen was reisolated from the inoculated plants and morphologically identical to the original isolates, which confirmed P. nicotianae as the causal agent of the disease. Few diseases have been reported on Phytolacca decandra. This species is not only an invasive weed, but is also cultivated as an ornamental and medicinal plant. In addition, antiviral (PAP) and antifungal (Pa-AFP) proteins that are used as a remedy for several human and plant infections have been extracted from the plant. To our knowledge, this is the first report of P. nicotianae on pokeweed. References: (1) D. C. Erwin and O. K. Ribeiro. Phytophthora Diseases Worldwide. The American Phytopathological Society, St. Paul, MN, 1996. (2) A. M.Vettraino et al. Plant Pathol. 50:90, 2001.

Incorporation into the erythrocyte membrane of channel-forming antibiotics, such as the polyene amphotericin B or the polypeptide gramicidin A, highly accelerates the transbilayer reorientation (flip) of exogenously incorporated lysolecithin. The first enhancement of flip is obtained when about 2 X 10(5) copies per cell are incorporated of each of the antibiotics. An up to 40-fold increase is obtained at about 2 X 10(6) copies per cell. Conversely, pimaricin, a polyene antibiotic which does not form channels probably because it cannot span the lipid bilayer, does not enhance flip. Moreover, the N-formylated analogue of gramicidin, which does not form channels either, does not enhance flip. The results clearly demonstrate the specificity of the flip enhancing effect and indicate a requirement of a focal perturbation of the outer and the inner membrane layer to induce flip by the channel formers. Besides flip enhancement antibiotics increase the rate of cleavage of outer membrane layer phosphatidylcholine by phospholipase A2. Moreover, amphotericin increases accessibility of inner membrane layer phosphatidylethanolamine to the lipase, whereas gramicidin does not enhance accessibility of this phospholipid. This indicates a more general perturbation of the inner membrane lipid domain by the polyenes.

In October 2000, chrysanthemums (Dendranthema × grandiflorum) cv. Debonair exhibiting blossom blight were submitted to the Plant Diagnostic Lab at Auburn University by a commercial greenhouse where most of the potted plants of this cultivar were symptomatic. At a local retail outlet, approximately 95% of the plants of the same cultivar of chrysanthemum had a similar blossom blight. Blighted petals were examined microscopically, and nonpapillate, internally proliferating sporangia (40 to 45 μm in length), characteristic of some species of Phytophthora, were observed. A species of Phytophthora was isolated repeatedly on PARP selective medium (corn meal agar containing pimaricin, ampicillin, rifamycin, and pentachloronitrobenzene). Isolates recovered were grown on V8 juice agar, under fluorescent lights and in darkness, at room temperature. These isolates were identified as Phytophthora nicotianae (= Phytophthora parasitica), on the basis of morphological and cultural characteristics. Sporangia were papillate (including some with dual apices), noncaducous, 45 to 60 μm in length, and spherical, ovoid, or obpyriform. Mycelium growth occurred at 36°C. Isolates were considered heterothallic because they did not produce oospores when grown on V8 juice agar in the dark for 2 weeks. Sporangia that were nonpapillate and proliferating internally were not observed on any of these isolates. Because we apparently did not isolate the Phytophthora spp. seen microscopically on petals, we cannot comment on its exact identity or significance in causing this disease. We did conduct pathogenicity tests to determine whether isolates of P. nicotianae were capable of causing the observed symptoms. These tests were conducted twice on chrysanthemum cultivars Debonair, Yellow Triumph, Spotlight, Raquel, Jennifer, Grace, and Hot Salsa. In the first test, two plants of each cultivar were sprayed to runoff with a zoospore suspension (10⁵ spores per ml) in sterile, filtered water. Two plants of each cultivar were sprayed with sterile, filtered water as noninoculated controls. Individual plants were placed in loosely closed plastic bags, misted daily, and held at 23 to 24°C with indirect lighting (approximately 12 h per day) for 1 week. In the second test, four plants of each cultivar except Debonair were inoculated as described previously, four plants of each cultivar were left untreated as noninoculated controls, and one Debonair plant was inoculated and one remained noninoculated. Plants were held for 3 days in an environmentally controlled growth room, with 23°C days (11 h)-20°C nights (13 h), under a plastic tent where high levels of humidity were maintained with a humidifier and daily misting. A grow light provided a low level of lighting (4 to 6 μE · m^-2 · s^-1). All inoculated plants developed severe blossom blight similar to that observed initially. In the first test, symptoms were evident at 2 days. In the growth room, blossom blight first was observed at 24 h postinoculation. In both tests, blossom blight severity increased quickly in the 1 to 2 days after the initial occurrence of symptoms. Only blossoms became diseased; symptoms did not extend to other plant organs. P. nicotianae was reisolated consistently from symptomatic blossoms on selective medium. This is, we believe, the first report of blossom blight on chrysanthemum caused by a species of Phytophthora. Previously, P. nicotianae has been reported to cause leaf blight on artificially inoculated Chrysanthemum × morifolium (Dendranthema × grandiflorum) cultivars Capri and Vermilion in Florida (1) and twig and leaf blight on Chrysanthemum coronarium in India (2). References: (1) C. R. Semer and B. C. Raju. Plant Dis. 69:1005-1006, 1985. (2) N. Sushma and N. D. Sharma. J. Mycol. Plant Pathol. 27:345, 1997.

Phytophthora nicotianae (synonym P. parasitica) Breda de Haan was isolated from recently harvested onion bulbs (Allium cepa) in cold storage from a commercial field in southern New Mexico. Deteriorating, water-soaked tissue from the center of four bulbs was plated onto water agar and incubated at room temperature. After 72 h, cultures of Phytophthora (identified by the presence of coenocytic hyphae and papillate sporangia) were isolated and transferred to V8 agar amended with ampicillin (250 mg/liter), rifampicin (10 mg/liter), and pimaricin (0.2% wt/vol). Isolates were identified as P. nicotianae based on morphological characteristics and DNA analysis. Sporangia were sharply papilliate, noncaducous, and ovoid to spherical. The average sporangium size was 45.9 × 39.9 μm with a length-to-width ratio of 1.15. Clamydospores, both terminal and intercalary, were spherical to ovoid and averaged 37.2 × 35.2 μm (2). PCR from whole-cell extracts was performed on four cultured isolates from the infected onion tissue using previously described primers ITS4 and ITS6, which amplify the 5.8S rDNA and ITS1 and ITS2 internal transcribed spacers (1,4). A band of approximately 890 bp was amplified and directly sequenced (GenBank Accession No. HQ398876). A BLAST search of the NCBI total nucleotide collection revealed a 100% similarity to multiple P. nicotianae isolates previously sequenced (1). To confirm the pathogenicity of the isolates, onion seedlings were inoculated with 25 ml of P. nicotionae zoospore solution (15,000 zoospores/ml). Necrosis of leaf tissue and seedling death was observed 5 days postinoculation. P. nicotianae was reisolated from the infected onion seedlings and the ITS region was sequenced to confirm its identity. P. nicotianae was previously reported in bulb onion from Australia, Taiwan (Formosa), and Zimbabwe (Rhodesia) (2). P. nicotianae was reported on bunching onions (A. fistulosum) in Hawaii in 1989 (3). Onions are an important crop in New Mexico with a total production value of 47 million dollars in 2008 (NM Agriculture Statistics 2008). This discovery of a potentially significant postharvest disease poses a threat to the onion industry in New Mexico. To our knowledge, this is the first report of P. nicotianae in bulb onion in the United States and the first report of P. nicotianae in New Mexico on any crop. References: (1) D. E. L. Cooke and J. M. Duncan. Mycol. Res. 101:667, 1997. (2) D. C. Erwin and O. K. Ribeiro. Page 56 in: Phytophthora Diseases Worldwide. The American Phytopathological Society, St Paul, MN, 1996. (3) R. D. Raabe et al. Information Text Series No. 22. University of Hawaii. Hawaii Inst. Trop. Agric. Human Resources, 1981. (4) T. J. White et al. Page 315 in: PCR Protocols: A Guide to Methods and Applications. M. A. Innis et al., eds. Academic Press, San Diego, 1990.

Damping-off was observed on experimentally planted seedlings of Ana-cardium excelsum (wild cashew), a timber tree, and Tetragastris panamensis, a canopy tree, within lowland tropical rain forest in Panama. Disease impact was greatest during the wet season (May through December). During the 1995 wet season, 40.7% (572/1,404) of T. panamensis seedlings died due to damping-off disease. Sixty-eight percent (703/1,034) of A. excelsum seed lings died due to damping-off during the 1996 wet season. Symptoms included leaf, cotyledon, and stem necrosis. Phytophthora heveae sporangia were observed on both host species, and oospores were found within stems of T. panamensis. Plating of diseased A. excelsum seedlings on potato dextrose agar with rifampicin (25 mg/ml) and pimaricin (10 mg/ml) produced cultures of Phytophthora heveae and Pythium from 27.4% (110/402) and 44.5% (179/402) of seedlings, respectively. Pythium isolates included P. vexans, P. splendens, and P. chamaehyphon species types, but P. vexans species types accounted for 70% of the Pythium isolates. Disease symptoms on experimental seedlings also were evident on naturally occurring seedlings. Mycelial plugs from six A. excelsum isolates of Phytophthora heveae were used to separately inoculate stems of three A. excelsum seedlings each. Of 18 seedlings inoculated, 88.8% developed characteristic symptoms and died in an average of 8.7 ± 1.0 (standard error [SE]) days. Nine Pythium isolates were used to separately inoculate stems of one to three A. excelsum seedlings each; three of these isolates were known to be P. vexans species types. All of the 20 seedlings inoculated with a Pythium isolate developed characteristic symptoms and died in an average of 6.1 ± 0.3 (SE) days. Both Phytophthora heveae and Pythium isolates were reisolated readily from diseased seedlings. Cotyledons and stems of seven to eight T. panamensis seedlings per isolate were inoculated with two Phytophthora heveae isolates originating from T. panamensis. Necrotic lesions on cotyledons consistent with field symptoms developed on 33.3% of 15 seedlings, but disease did not spread within the stem. Measurements of key morphological structures and cardinal temperatures of four Phytophthora heveae isolates from A. excelsum were consistent with published species descriptions (1), except (i) sporangia with two apices were present, although infrequent; (ii) chlamydospores were produced; and (iii) antheridia were narrower and often shorter than published measurements (7 to 12 m long; 2 to 6 m wide). Internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences from Phytophthora heveae isolates cultured from A. excelsum and T. panamensis were matched to reference sequences of Phytophthora heveae with only 3-bp differences (2). ITS sequences for isolates of Pythium vexans, P. splendens, and P. chamaehyphon species types clustered within clades of reference strains of these species (C. A. Lévesque, personal communication). Phytophthora heveae and Pythium spp. have been reported from the tropics. However, this is the first report of these pathogens on seedlings of A. excelsum and T. panamensis. Reference: (1) D. C. Erwin and O. K. Ribeiro. 1996. Phytophthora Diseases Worldwide. The American Phytopathological Society, St. Paul, MN, pp. 100-107, 336-337. (2) D. E. L. Cook et al. A molecular phylogeny of Phytophthora and related Oomy-cetes. Fungal Genet. & Biol. In press.

Blighting of Forsythia × intermedia 'Showoff' was first observed affecting several hundred plants in a commercial nursery in Connecticut in September 2012. Symptoms included wilting, leaf and stem blight, and dieback progressing to plant death. A Phytophthora sp. was isolated from symptomatic tissues on half-strength potato dextrose agar (½PDA). Colonies were white and cottony on ½PDA, reaching 9 mm in 15 days at 25°C, but colorless and inconspicuous on pimaricin, ampicillin, rifampicin, pentachloronitrobenzene agar (PARP) with sparse and limited aerial mycelium, reaching 60 mm in 15 days at 25°C. The characteristics of the pathogen were observed and measured from a 3-month-old colony on ½PDA. Sporangia were abundant, various in shape, ovoid, ellipsoid to pyriform or limoniform, occasionally gourd shaped or irregular; (17.9) 27.2 to 41.4 (47.3) × (12.6) 19.1 to 30.5 (36.7) μm (n = 30), length/breadth ratio 1.4 ± 0.2, papillate and noncaducous. Papillae measured 2.9 ± 0.8 × 3.4 ± 0.8 μm (n = 10). Chlamydospores were present, 23.4 ± 3.1 × 22 ± 3.3 μm (n = 10). Oogonia and oospores were not observed. Arachnoid mycelia were present. These morphological characteristics are consistent with Phytophthora nicotianae Breda de Haan (1). The identity of the pathogen was confirmed as P. nicotianae by BLAST analysis of ITS, Cox II, and beta tubulin gene sequences (99% match for the three sequences, E value = 0). Pathogenicity tests were conducted four times on healthy liners of Forsythia × intermedia 'Showoff' grown in 10-cm-diameter pots. Leaves and stems were wounded by pricking with a sterile needle and six plants were inoculated with 0.25 cm² plugs of the pathogen growing on ½PDA placed on three leaves and in three stem nodes and covered with Parafilm. Controls consisted of an equal number of plants wounded and inoculated with ½PDA alone. All plants were placed inside high humidity chambers for 24 h and then transferred to a greenhouse for up to 1 month. Typical symptoms developed within 1 week of inoculation and the pathogen was re-isolated from diseased tissue. Disease incidence was nearly 100% of inoculated leaves and stems and not observed in control plants without the pathogen. Three replicate 6-week-old broadleaf tobacco 'C9' plants were each inoculated with tobacco or forsythia isolates of P. nicotianae or sterile media alone, by wounding stems and placing colonized 0.25 cm² ½PDA plugs into wounds and covering with Parafilm. After 1 week, stems were split and the length of internal necrosis in the stem measured. Disease resulted from inoculation with both the tobacco and forsythia isolates and stem necrosis averaged 43 and 23 mm for tobacco or forsythia isolates, respectively. No necrosis was observed in the pathogen-free controls. P. nicotianae has been reported from the basal stem and roots of F. viridissima in Italy (2) and from shoots of Forsythia × intermedia in Virginia (3). To our knowledge, this is the first report of P. nicotianae causing shoot blight on Forsythia in the northeastern United States. References: (1) J. van. Breda de Haan. Mededeelingenuit's Lands Plantentuin Batavia. 15:57, 1896. (2) S. O. Cacciola et al. Plant Dis. 78:525, 1994. (3) C. X. Hong et al. Plant Dis. 89:430, 2005.

Poinsettias are grown extensively in greenhouses in Puerto Rico, a five million dollar industry during the winter season of 2005. More than 2,000 'Freedom' plants from an ornamental nursery near Aibonito exhibited severe wilt and dieback symptoms. The disease was found in 5 of 12 surveyed greenhouses where severity ranged from 50 to 100% and occurred regardless of the use of metalaxyl and mefenoxam. Symptoms during the growth phase included stunted plants, thin stems, chlorotic leaves, and brown roots. During flower bract development, symptoms consisted of leaf wilting often in sectors, stem canker, and purple-to-black lesions that extended from the stem to the petioles followed by soft rot. Isolations from symptomatic stem and root tissue were made on corn meal agar (CMA) (17 g/liter) amended with pimaricin (10 mg/liter), ampicillin (250 mg/liter), rifampicin (10 mg/liter), pentachloronitrobenzene (100 mg/liter), and hymexazol (50 mg/liter) (PARPH) (1). Pure cultures were obtained by hyphal-tip transfers onto CMA-PARPH. Colonies grown on acidified potato dextrose agar (APDA) at 25°C were arachnoid with abundant aerial mycelium and sporangia. Sporangia formed singly or in a loose sympodium on long sporangiophores and were papillate, mostly persistent, or caducous with short pedicel. The shape of sporangia varied from ellipsoidal to elongated ovoid, with a length/breath ratio of 16.5 × 14.2 μm. Large, spherical, terminal, and intercalary chlamydospores readily formed in APDA and PARPH. The isolate was identified as Phytophthora nicotianae on the basis of morphological and molecular characteristics. Molecular identification by sequence analysis of the internal transcribed spacer rDNA region confirmed the identity of the isolate P210.1 as P. nicotianae (GenBank Accession No. DQ485412). Pathogenicity tests were conducted with isolates P210.1 and IG grown on APDA for 7 days at 24°C. Isolates were then covered with sterile water for 48 h to induce sporangia and zoospore production at 24°C and continuous light. A suspension of 10 ml of approximately 120 sporangia ml^-1 were added to pots containing 2.2 kg of a 1:1 mixture of field soil and soilless media (Promix) composed of peat moss vermiculite and perlite. One healthy poinsettia rooted stem and one 2-month-old plant were transplanted individually into the inoculated soil and pots were flooded with sterile water for 24 h. A noninoculated control was included, each isolate and control were replicated five times. First symptoms (7 to 10 days after inoculation) included brown, limited root growth and lower stem discoloration. Plants (30- to 45-day-old) show a decline in vigor and rapid death of branches that are similar symptoms to those observed on infected poinsettias in commercial greenhouses. P. nicotianae was reisolated from infected root, crown, and stem tissue on PARPH media. A strict sanitation program was recommended to prevent recontamination. To our knowledge, this is the first report of P. nicotianae on poinsettia in Puerto Rico. Reference: D. J. Mitchell and M. E. Kannwischer-Mitchel, Phytophthora. Page:31 in: Methods for Research on Soilborne Phytopathogenic Fungi. L. L. Singleton et al., eds. The American Phytopathological Society, St. Paul, MN, 1993.