Identification and characterization of Colletotrichum species causing apple bitter rot in New York and description of C. noveboracense sp. nov.

Abstract

Apple bitter rot caused by Colletotrichum species is a growing problem worldwide. Colletotrichum spp. are economically important but taxonomically un-resolved. Identification of Colletotrichum spp. is critical due to potential species-level differences in pathogenicity-related characteristics. A 400-isolate collection from New York apple orchards were morphologically assorted to two groups, C. acutatum species complex (CASC) and C. gloeosporioides species complex (CGSC). A sub-sample of 44 representative isolates, spanning the geographical distribution and apple varieties, were assigned to species based on multi-locus phylogenetic analyses of nrITS, GAPDH and TUB2 for CASC, and ITS, GAPDH, CAL, ACT, TUB2, APN2, ApMat and GS genes for CGSC. The dominant species was C. fioriniae, followed by C. chrysophilum and a novel species, C. noveboracense, described in this study. This study represents the first report of C. chrysophilum and C. noveboracense as pathogens of apple. We assessed the enzyme activity and fungicide sensitivity for isolates identified in New York. All isolates showed amylolytic, cellulolytic and lipolytic, but not proteolytic activity. C. chrysophilum showed the highest cellulase and the lowest lipase activity, while C. noveboracense had the highest amylase activity. Fungicide assays showed that C. fioriniae was sensitive to benzovindiflupyr and thiabendazole, while C. chrysophilum and C. noveboracense were sensitive to fludioxonil, pyraclostrobin and difenoconazole. All species were pathogenic on apple fruit with varying lesion sizes. Our findings of differing pathogenicity-related characteristics among the three species demonstrate the importance of accurate species identification for any downstream investigations of Colletotrichum spp. in major apple growing regions.

Identification of Colletotrichum Species Associated with Blueberry Anthracnose in Sichuan, China

“…According to the result of our study, C. fructicola was the dominant and highly aggressive pathogen causing the disease. Colletotrichum fructicola is a nonhost-specific pathogen that has been reported on certain hosts, such as apple [ 22 ], Citrus spp. [ 31 , 32 ], Pyrus spp.…”

“…With the molecular characterization of the pathogen and the development of DNA sequencing over past decades, a combination of morphological characteristics and multilocus phylogeny has recently been used to identify Colletotrichum species. To date, many anthracnose diseases have been diagnosed in various crops, such as apple [ 22 ], grapevine [ 23 ], pepper [ 24 ], jute [ 25 ], persimmon [ 26 ] and citrus [ 27 ].…”

Penicillium expansum: biology, omics, and management tools for a global postharvest pathogen causing blue mould of pome fruit

“…and other pathogens such as Botrytis cinerea , Botryosphaeria dothidea , Botryosphaeria obtusa , Alternaria alternata , and Neofabraea malicorticis also cause postharvest rots (Rice et al ., 1977; Sanderson, 1995; Sholberg and Haag, 1996; Pianzzola et al ., 2004; Sutton et al ., 2014). In addition, there is still an array of pome fruit rot pathogens that are being identified and characterized (Khodadadi et al ., 2020). The disease is of international concern and blue mould fungi are globally distributed.…”

Comparative transcriptome analysis reveals significant differences in gene expression between pathogens of apple Glomerella leaf spot and apple bitter rot

“…In China, GLS was rst reported in 2011 at Fengxian in Jiangsu province and has become a widespread disease in apple producing areas, such as Shangdong, Hebei, Liaoning and Gansu Provinces [1,8]. ABR is an ordinary fruit rotting disease of apple that occurs worldwide causing extensive fruit rot [9]. About 30-60% fruits rot before harvest while serious occurring in commercial orchards [10].…”

“…While C. karstii belong to the C. boninense species complex [18], and both C. oriniae and C. nymphaeae fall within the C. acutatum species complex [14,19]. Till now, the causal agent of ABR have been identi ed as seven Colletotrichum species, including C. fructicola, C. gloeosporioides, C. alienum, C. nymphaeae, C. siamense and C. orientalis [2,5,9,20]. Four Colletotrichum species, such as C. fructicola, C. gloeosporioides, C. alienum, and C. siamense, are common causal agents of GLS and ABR, whereas the pathogenicity of those Colletotrichum species were various on apple.…”