Identifikasi Molekuler Jamur Penyebab Karat Daun (Puccinia sp.) pada Tanaman Tebu

Abstract

Sugarcane rust (Puccinia sp.) becomes a challenge in sugarcane cultivation because it can cause significant economic losses. There is a possibility that the species of sugarcane rust are different in each region because their distribution is influenced by variety, climate, and the regional environmental conditions of sugarcane. In addition, the Pucciniaceae family often experiences misidentification in the previous studies. This research aims to obtain identification data of sugarcane rust morphologically and molecularly to the species level, as well as to determine the specificity of primers designed for orange rust (Puccinia kuehnii) and brown rust (Puccinia melanocephala). The morphology of Puccinia sp. was analyzed using SEM microscope, while the molecular analysis of Puccinia sp. was conducted using PCR with specific primers designed using the sequence of Puccinia sp. from ITS 1 and ITS 2 regions. Based on the morphological analysis results, samples from the regions of Bondowoso and Blitar have ellipsoidal and obovoid shapes. Whereas molecularly, P. kuehnii and P. melanocephala can be identified using primers PK and PM, marked by the presence of DNA bands in the visualization of PCR results. The sugarcane rust species are difficult to distinguish because both fungi have similar morphology. Fungal species can be differentiated after using specific primers, but the primers that are being used are less specific to the target gene, resulting in the sequencing of samples using primer PM being highly similar to those of using primer PK.