Characterization of Colletotrichum Species Causing Strawberry Anthracnose in Bulgaria

Abstract

Strawberry anthracnose was first reported in Bulgaria in 2002, subsequently reaching disease epidemic proportions in production fields from 2004. Isolates of Colletotrichum species from different strawberry cultivars (112), pepper (2), tomato (1), and the weed species Cirsium arvense (1), Abuthilon theophrasti (1) and Rumex obtusifolius (1) growing adjacent to cultivated strawberry fields, were characterized by morphological criteria and by various molecular methods. Morphological characterization defined all the isolates as Colletotrichum acutatum, which was ultimately confirmed by species‐specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis. No PCR products were amplified using Colletotrichum gloeosporioides specific primers. Arbitrarily primed PCR determined that all the studied isolates, regardless of which plant species they originated from, were uniform indicating that they belong to an asexually reproducing population. Sequence analysis of the complete ITS (ITS 1 – 5.8S – ITS 2) region further identified the pathogen populations as C. acutatum and grouped them within the previously defined subgroup II, ‘Ca‐clonal’, which is uniform. Pathogenicity tests and alternate host infections imply that cross‐inoculation of C. acutatum between strawberry and other susceptible hosts is occurring under field conditions.

Characterization of a Colletotrichum population causing anthracnose disease on Olive in northern Tunisia

“…), Israel (Freeman and Katan ) and Bulgaria (Jelev et al . ). However, in 2014, Mosca and co‐workers, have detected from analysed olive samples, seven different genotypes associated with C. godetiae and three different genotypes associated with C. acutatum s.s , suggesting the existence of a higher genetic variability within these species in comparison with previously available data (Mosca et al .…”

Diversity and decomposition potential of endophytes in leaves of a Cinnamomum camphora plantation in China

“…C. gloeosporioides was the dominant endophytic species; this species is known as a plant pathogenic fungus that causes disease on many different hosts including anthracnose on many fruits (Miyara et al 2008;Embaby et al 2010), black canker and leaf spot (Spiers and Hopcroft 2007). The endophytes in genus Colletotrichum, Cladosporium and Guignardia have been reported mostly as pathogenic fungi parasitizing many plants (Paul et al 2005;Sreenivasaprasad and Talhinhas 2005;Thomma et al 2005;Jelev et al 2008). Following C. gloeosporioides, Colletotrichum sp., Cladosporium sp.1, Chaetomium sp.…”

“…Because of the absence or dissimilarity of sporulation to known species, these four taxa were identified just to genus level. The endophytes in genus Colletotrichum, Cladosporium and Guignardia have been reported mostly as pathogenic fungi parasitizing many plants (Paul et al 2005;Sreenivasaprasad and Talhinhas 2005;Thomma et al 2005;Jelev et al 2008).…”

Colletotrichum gloeosporioides is not a common pathogen on tropical fruits

“…Living strains and sequence data are therefore available from the epitype so that fresh isolates can be compared by DNA sequence analyses to confidently identify species, overcoming the inadequacies of traditional morphological identification Hyde et al 2009a). DNA characters are not directly influenced by environmental factors, and thus the combination of multi Hyde et al 2009b;Jelev et al 2008;Johnston et al 2008. Chilli (Capsicum annuum) C. acutatum, C. capsici, C. gloeosporioides gene sequence analysis along with traditional morphological identification has lead to a reliable application for identifying species of Colletotrichum Cannon et al 2000;Prihastuti et al 2009;).…”