%0 Journal Article %T CHARACTERIZATION OF Colletotrichum kahawae STRAINS IN TANZANIA %A KILAMBO D.L. %A GUERRA-GUIMAR£¿ES L. %A MABAGALA R.B. %A VARZEA V.M.P. %J International Journal of Microbiology Research %D 2013 %I Bioinfo Publications %X Strains of Colletotrichum kahawae from different coffee growing areas in Tanzania, Kenya and Cameroon were studied for their different characters. Characterization was done through the application of iso-enzyme whereby morphological attributes were studied to determine variability of C. kahawae. Application of iso-enzymes involved extraction of proteins from the mycelia of each of the strain and the content was determined using Bio-Rad protein assay kit. The strains were Tanzania (14), Kenya (2) and Cameroon (1), and Colletotrichum gloeosporioides. The protein content of C. kahawae strains were compared for their reaction to iso-enzymes based on the activity of esterace, acid and basic phosphotase using the technique of isoelectic focusing electrophoresis (IEF). It was possible to detect a high esterase activity portraying many bands per strain of C. kahawae, but lower in the case of basic and acid phosphatase. However all enzymes revealed polymorphisms. The data matrices from enzymes pattern were formed by identifying the presence or absence of bands. A phenogram based on the estimate similarity coefficients was constructed by un-weighed pair group methods (UPGMA) using the computer software package NTSYS-PC version 2.02. The original similarity matrix was compared with the cophenetic value matrix generated from the systems of clusters. The cophenetic coefficient (r) was estimated and used as a measure of the goodness of fit. The results obtained by cluster analysis on C. kahawae Cam1 strain shows that iso-enzymatic profile of the strain is different from the rest. In the Tanzania population studied two groups were formed and C. kahawae strain T3 seemed to be different from the rest of the strain. Characteristics of Colletotrichum strains collected from different coffee growing areas were observed after 10 days of growth on MEA in darkness at temperature ranges between 15¡ãC to 30¡ãC. The morph cultural characteristics used to study variability of Colletotrichum spp were cultural texture, conidia shape and sizes, and growth rate. Out of 30 Colletotrichum spp isolated from diseased green coffee berries, 25 isolates were identified as Colletotrichum kahawae producing dark grey cottony, oval conidia morphology and slow growth rate. Five isolates identified as Colletotrichum gloeosporioides; growth rate ranged from 7.3 to 8.8 mm and C. kahawae ranged from 5.0 to 5.5 mm per 24 hr. at 25oC. This shows that the growth rate of C. gloeosporioides was always more rapid than that of C. kahawae. This shows that the growth rate analysis is a useful method separating %K Characterization %K C. kahawae %K Iso-enzymes %K Morpho-cultural attributes %U http://www.bioinfopublication.org/viewhtml.php?artid=BIA0001728