This is a continuation of a series focused on providing a stable platform for the taxonomy of phytopathogenic fungi and fungus-like organisms. This paper focuses on one family: Erysiphaceae and 24 phytopathogenic genera: Armillaria, Barriopsis, Cercospora, Cladosporium, Clinoconidium, Colletotrichum, Cylindrocladiella, Dothidotthia,, Fomitopsis, Ganoderma, Golovinomyces, Heterobasidium, Meliola, Mucor, Neoerysiphe, Nothophoma, Phellinus, Phytophthora, Pseudoseptoria, Pythium, Rhizopus, Stemphylium, Thyrostroma and Wojnowiciella. Each genus is provided with a taxonomic background, distribution, hosts, disease symptoms, and updated backbone trees. Species confirmed with pathogenicity studies are denoted when data are available. Six of the genera are updated from previous entries as many new species have been described.
Apple scab, caused by Venturia inaequalis, is a destructive fungal disease of major apple cultivars worldwide, most of which are moderately to highly susceptible. Thus, development of scab resistant cultivars is one of the highest priorities of apple breeding programs. The principal source of resistance for breeding programs has been the scab resistance gene Rvi6 that originated from the Japanese crabapple Malus floribunda (Sieb.) sel. 821. Isolates of V. inaequalis able to overcome Rvi6 have been identified in Europe, but have not yet been reported on the American continents. We recently discovered scab infection on M. floribunda 821 trees in a research orchard at Geneva, NY, U.S.A., where approximately 10% of the leaves bore profusely sporulating apple scab lesions, many of which had coalesced to cover entire leaves. We observed both chlorosis, typical to Rvi6, and pinpoint pitting symptoms typical to failed infections by V. inaequalis on hosts bearing the Rvi7 gene. We assessed genetic diversity and population genetic structure of 11 V. inaequalis isolates in total, of North American and European origin, isolated from M. floribunda 821, ‘Nova Easygro’, ‘Golden Delicious’, TSR33T239, ‘Schone van Boskoop’, and ‘Prima’, using 16,321 genome-wide SNPs. Population genetic structure and PCA separated the isolates into distinct European and U.S. groups. The forgoing suggests that the new Rvi6 virulent isolates emerged within U.S. populations, rather than being transported from Europe. The complete resistance breakdown in M. floribunda 821 but not in descendant cultivars, which kept their field resistance, suggests that durable resistance to apple scab will require a more comprehensive understanding of Rvi6 mediated resistance in diverse genetic backgrounds.
Background Breeding for resistance to apple scab (caused by Venturia inaequalis), the most devastating fungal disease of apples, relies on genetic resources maintained in germplasm collections. Methods To identify new sources of scab resistance, we evaluated 177 Malus accessions, including 27 primary and 13 hybrid Malus species from diverse geographical origins, in an orchard at Geneva, New York. We also screened a differential host set for 2 years to monitor for changes in the effectiveness of ten known scab resistance genes, which allowed us to confirm the presence of virulent pathogen races in the orchard. Results We found that ~ 37% of the wild Malus accessions and domesticated cultivars were resistant to apple scab in the field. Several of these accessions were unrelated to sources of previously known resistance genes and are promising for apple scab genetic research and resistance breeding. Cultivars carrying the Rvi6 (Vf) gene from Malus floribunda clone 821, e.g. ‘Liberty’ or ‘Florina’, remained resistant despite the breakdown of Rvi6. ‘Demir’, a Malus hybrid from Turkey, and ‘Chisel Jersey’, a traditional English hard cider cultivar, showed fewer symptoms than the Rvi6 resistant cultivar ‘Prima’. Races 1 to 7 and 9 of V. inaequalis were present in the orchard, but no scab was observed on the indicator host accessions for races 11 and 12. Conclusions Detailed and systematic screening of Malus germplasm identified resistant and moderately resistant donor accessions based on resistance reaction types. These accessions are promising for use in future genetic studies to identify novel sources of scab resistance alleles for apple breeding to develop cultivars with durable apple scab resistance.
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