Updating species diversity of Colletotrichum, with a phylogenomic overview

Abstract

The genus Colletotrichum includes important plant pathogens, endophytes, saprobes and human pathogens. Even though the polyphasic approach has facilitated Colletotrichum species identification, knowledge of the overall species diversity and host distribution is largely incomplete. To address this, we examined 952 Colletotrichum strains isolated from plants representing 322 species from 248 genera, or air and soil samples, from 87 locations in China, as well as 56 strains from Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Turkey, and the UK. Based on morphological characteristics and multi-locus phylogenetic analyses, the strains were assigned to 107 species, including 30 new species described in this paper and 18 new records for China. The currently most comprehensive backbone tree of Colletotrichum, comprising 16 species complexes (including a newly introduced C. bambusicola species complex) and 15 singleton species, is provided. Based on these analyses, 280 species with available molecular data are accepted in this genus, of which 139 have been reported in China, accounting for 49.6 % of the species. Colletotrichum siamense, C. karsti, C. fructicola, C. truncatum, C. fioriniae, and C. gloeosporioides were the most commonly detected species in China, as well as the species with the broadest host range. By contrast, 76 species were currently found to be associated with a single plant species or genus in China. To date, 33 Colletotrichum species have been exclusively reported as endophytes. Furthermore, we generated and assembled whole-genome sequences of the 30 new and a further 18 known species. The most comprehensive genome tree comprising 94 Colletotrichum species based on 1 893 single-copy orthologous genes was hence generated, with all nodes, except four, supported by 100 % bootstrap values. Collectively, this study represents the most comprehensive investigation of Colletotrichum diversity and host occurrence to date, and greatly enhances our understanding of the diversity and phylogenetic relationships in this genus.

Colletotrichum Species Associated with Anthracnose Disease of Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) in China

“…Previous studies revealed that 15 Colletotrichum species were identified from chili fruits with anthracnose symptoms in China, including C. fioriniae , C. fructicola , C. gloeosporioides , C. scovillei , C. truncatum , C. conoides , C. grossum , C. magnum , C. aenigma , C. cliviae , C. endophytica , C. hymenocallidis , C. incanum , C. karstii , and C. viniferum [ 16 , 43 ]. Furthermore, it is interesting that five Colletotrichum species, including C. fructicola , C. truncatum , C. magnum , C. aenigma , and C. karstii , were also isolated from watermelon in this study.…”

“…The species complexes of the Colletotrichum include several taxa [ 30 , 31 , 32 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 43 ]. Thus, the complex species related to the 15 Colletotrichum species recovered in this study were selected and included in the analyses.…”

“…In this study, most isolates belonging to the C. magnum species complex showed higher aggressiveness than those of the C. gloeosporioides , C. boninense , C. orbiculare, C. orchidearum, C. truncatum , and C. acutatum species complexes ( Figure 11 ). Studies suggest that C. magnum caused watermelon anthracnose in USA and chili anthracnose in China [ 16 , 32 , 43 ]. However, it was never reported on watermelon in China.…”

“…Following the adoption of multi-locus phylogenetic analysis together with morphological characteristics, the classification and species concepts in Colletotrichum taxa worldwide have changed significantly [ 1 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 ]. Nearly all acknowledged species studied were grouped into 16 Colletotrichum species complexes, and more than 16 singleton species have been identified [ 9 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 ].…”

A Importância Da Biotecnologia Agrícola Na Produção De Alimentos

“…Considerado como importante patógeno de plantas, Colletotrichum spp. são responsáveis por causar uma variedade de doenças, incluindo a antracnose em diversas culturas econômicas e plantas ornamentais (CAI et al, 2009;CANNON et al, 2012;DOYLE et al, 2013;JAYAWARDENA et al, 2021;LIU et al, 2022). Dean et al (2012) (BARGUIL et al, 2009;BARGUIL et al, 2011;GURGEL et al, 2014) relataram que somente a espécie C. gloeosporioides está associada à antracnose em helicônias no mundo.…”