Three Colletotrichum Species, Including a New Species, are Associated to Leaf Anthracnose of Rubber Tree in Hainan, China

Abstract

Colletotrichum gloeosporioides and C. acutatum have been reported to be causal agents of anthracnose disease of rubber tree. Recent investigations have shown that both C. gloeosporioides and C. acutatum are species complexes. The identities of Colletotrichum species causing anthracnose disease of rubber tree in Hainan, China, are unknown. In this study, 106 isolates obtained from rubber tree with symptoms of anthracnose were collected from 12 counties of Hainan and identified at the species complex level based on the ITS sequences and colony morphologies. Seventy-four isolates were identified as C. gloeosporioides species complex and the other 32 isolates as C. acutatum species complex. Forty-two isolates were selected for further multilocus phylogenetic analyses in order to identify the isolates to the species level. Twenty-six isolates from the C. gloeosporioides species complex were characterized for partial sequences of seven gene regions (ACT, TUB2, CHS-1, GAPDH, ITS, ApMat, and GS), and the other 16 isolates from the C. acutatum species complex for five gene regions (ACT, TUB2, CHS-1, GAPDH, and ITS). Three species were identified: C. siamense and C. fructicola from the C. gloeosporioides species complex, and a new species C. wanningense from the C. acutatum species complex. Artificial inoculation of rubber tree leaves confirmed the pathogenicity of the three species. The present study improves the understanding of species causing anthracnose on rubber tree and provides useful information for the effective control of the disease.

Population structure, pathogenicity, and fungicide sensitivity of Colletotrichum siamense from different hosts in Hainan, China

“…It has been confirmed that C . siamense is the dominant species that causes anthracnose on these three crops in Hainan (Cao et al, 2019a, 2019b, 2020).…”

“…Plant‐pathogenic Colletotrichum species are often described as causing typical symptoms of anthracnose disease, including spots and sunken necrotic lesions on leaves, stems, flowers, and fruits, but they can cause other symptoms such as red rot on sugar cane, crown rot on strawberry and banana, and brown blotch on cowpea (Cannon et al, 2012). Anthracnose is an important disease of rubber tree, coffee, and areca palm in Hainan, resulting in significant yield losses (Cao et al, 2019a, 2019b, 2020).…”

“…Anthracnose is an important disease of rubber tree, coffee, and areca palm in Hainan, resulting in significant yield losses (Cao et al, 2019a(Cao et al, , 2019b(Cao et al, , 2020.…”

Characteristics and distribution of Colletotrichum species in coffee plantations in Hainan, China

“…gloeosporioides species complex that caused leaf anthracnose of rubber tree were C . siamense in Hainan (Cao et al ., ). In this study, 69.1% and 14.6% of isolates from coffee were identified to be these two species, respectively.…”

First report of leaf spot caused by Colletotrichum siamense on Sophora tonkinensis

“…Colletotrichum siamense can infect more than 60 species of plants worldwide (Ji et al 2019), but there have been no previous reports of the pathogen on S. tonkinensis. In China, various diseases caused by C. siamense can infect other hosts include Sterculia nobilis (Zhang et al 2020a, b), Sterculia lanceolata (Zhang et al 2020a, b), Hevea brasiliensis (rubber tree) (Cao et al 2019), Mallotus oblongifolius (Partridge tea) (Liu et al 2018), Macadamia sp. (Qiu et al 2020), Litchi chinensis (Ling et al 2019), and Camellia sinensis (Wang et al 2016).…”