Species of the Colletotrichum gloeosporioides and C. boninense complexes associated with olive anthracnose

Abstract

The taxonomic status of Colletotrichum gloeosporioides sensu lato (s.l.) associated with olive anthracnose is still undetermined and the pathogenic ability of this species complex is controversial. In the present study, isolates obtained from olive and provisionally identified as C. gloeosporioides s.l. on the basis of morphological and cultural features were reclassified using ITS and TUB2 as DNA barcode markers and referred to seven distinct species, recently separated within C. gloeosporioides (C. aenigma, C. gloeosporioides sensu stricto (s.s.), C. kahawae, C. queenslandicum, C. siamense and C. theobromicola) and C. boninense (C. karstii) species complexes. Furthermore, isolates of C. kahawae were ascribed to the subspecies ciggaro by analysing the GS gene. A single isolate, not in either of these two species complexes, was not identified at the species level. In pathogenicity tests on detached olive drupes some of these species, including C. aenigma, C. kahawae subsp. ciggaro, C. queenslandicum, C. siamense and C. karstii, were shown to be weakly pathogenic. Moreover, they were found very sporadically on olive. In contrast, some isolates of C. gloeosporioides s.s. and isolates of C. theobromicola proved to be virulent on both green and ripening olives. This study gives a better insight into both the aetiology and the epidemiology of olive anthracnose and might have implications for biosecurity and quarantine because C. theobromicola has never been reported in major European olive-producing countries.

Diverse Colletotrichum species cause anthracnose of tea plants (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze) in China

“…Notes: Colletotrichum aenigma was first reported on Persea americana from Israel and has been subsequently reported on Pyrus pyrifolia from Japan13, Pyrus communis , Citrus sinensis , and Olea europaea from Italy32, Hylocereus undatus from Thailand33, Poplar sp. from China2234, and Vitis vinifera from China24.…”

Virulence diversity of anthracnose pathogens (Colletotrichum acutatum and C. gloeosporioides species complexes) on eight olive cultivars commonly grown in Portugal

“…However, present results suggest that specific recognition events may be occurring at an early stage, conditioning spore germination and appressorium formation, which in turn can condition the disease severity. The recent identification of multiple pathogens related to olive anthracnose with varied levels of virulence to olive fruits (Schena et al 2014) further strengthens the need for studies relating pathogen diversity, population dynamics, pathogenicity mechanisms and host resistance.…”

Fungal community in olive fruits of cultivars with different susceptibilities to anthracnose and selection of isolates to be used as biocontrol agents

“…The abundant detection of N. vagabunda on asymptomatic fruits was quite surprisingly, suggesting a conspicuous colonization of olive tissues by this fungus before the appearance of symptoms. At lower abundance, other olive fungal pathogens represented by Colletotrichum spp., a genus that contains different species associated with olive anthracnose (Schena et al, 2014), were also detected as endophyte in olives from cv. Madural.…”