CLINICAL AND EPIDEMIOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF PATIENTS WITH URINARY TRACT INFECTION BY Trichosporon spp. IN THE PERIOD 2012-2017

The sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam) is a species of the Convolvulaceae family, characterized by production of tuberous roots rich in starch, easy cultivation and have great social and economic importance. In Brazil it is the fourth vegetable most produced and consumed. Several factors can limit the sweet potato production, among them, diseases caused by fungi can be highlighted, due to its high incidence and losses that cause. It could be observed in several fields of sweet potato production in Brazil a high incidence of rot of stems that result severe yield losses. Among the pathogens that cause stem rot of sweet potato, some Botryosphaeriaceae already were reported. However, until now, no accurate study was performed for the correct identification of species in this crop in Brazil. Therefore, the aim of this work was the identification of Botryosphaeriaceae species associated with stems rot of sweet potato and confirmation of the pathogenicity. Stems of sweet potato with symptoms of rot were collected in fields of production in Pernambuco and Minas Gerais. The samples were sent to the Laboratório de Micologia Ambiental da Universidade Federal de Pernambuco for the isolation of the fungi. Fragments of the symptomatic stems were cut at the border between healthy and necrotic tissues, and they were disinfested with ethanol 70% and hypochlorite 1% and incubated in PDA medium. The identification of fungi was based on the study of the morphology of reproductive structures and phylogenetic analysis of the gene regions ITS and TEF1-α. The species identified were: Lasiodiplodia theobromae, L. hormozganensis, Macrophomina phaseolina, M. pseudophaseolina and Neoscytalidium dimidiatum. For the pathogenicity test, one representative isolate of the each species were grown in Erlenmeyer flasks with 50 g of autoclaved rice and 10 ml of distilled water. After 15 days of growth, one colonized rice was deposited in the basal region of the stem of five 30-days-old plants and previously wounded with a scalpel. Autoclaved rice was used as control. After 10 days, the experiment was evaluated and necrotic lesions were observed in the stems resulting in the death of some replicates. This is the first report of L. hormozganensis, Macrophomina phaseolina, M. pseudophaseolina and Neoscytalidium dimidiatum causing stems rot of sweet potato in Brazil. This work certainly will contribute for future studies of disease management in sweet potato and for development of resistant varieties.