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Colletotrichum spp. on Fruit Crops – State of the Art, Perspectives and Drawbacks

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A special issue of Pathogens (ISSN 2076-0817). This special issue belongs to the section "Fungal Pathogens".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2021) | Viewed by 15779

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Sónia Gomes

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Guest Editor

University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, Vila Real, Portugal. Biosystems & Integrative Sciences Institute, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisboa, BioISI/UTAD, Portugal
Interests: Food security; Plant-pathogen interaction; Pathogen-related genes; Genomics; Molecular methods; Olea europaea L.; Colletotrichum spp.; qPCR; real-time PCR; High resolution melting (HRM)

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Colletotrichum spp. are one of the most notorious plant pathogenic fungi that affect important croc production and global food security. Climate change and ongoing globalization are the two major challenges of the 21st century for plant pathogen evolution and disease-resistant crops. It is therefore essential to design new breeding strategies to improve disease resistance in fruit crops and to transfer this knowledge to farmers in the required time frame. The multidisciplinary research programs on evolution and diversity of Colletotrichum spp., plant–pathogen molecular and ecological interactions, fungal genomes consortium, genome editing, and epidemiology studies have been revealing remarkable features of Colletotrichum spp. For this Special Issue of Pathogens, we invite you to submit innovative research and review articles, as well as brief communications related to Colletotrichum spp. Complex—OMICS approaches and scientific challenges—to ensure food security and develop novel strategies to control crop diseases in the context of the world’s global challenges. We look forward to your contribution.

Dr. Sónia Gomes
Guest Editor

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Keywords

Colletotrichum spp.
fruits
plant–pathogen interactions
disease resistance
food security
genomics

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Editorial

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4 pages, 216 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Editorial Comments to the Special Issue: “Colletotrichum spp. on Fruit Crops—State of the Art, Perspectives and Drawbacks”

by Sónia Gomes, Filipe Azevedo-Nogueira and Paula Martins-Lopes

Pathogens 2021, 10(4), 478; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens10040478 - 15 Apr 2021

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1626

Abstract

The year 2020 has been celebrated as the International Year of Plant Health by the United Nations, and it has been a unique opportunity to realise the vital role of producing while preserving our natural and cultural heritage—Sustainable Food and Agriculture [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Colletotrichum spp. on Fruit Crops – State of the Art, Perspectives and Drawbacks)

Research

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12 pages, 1470 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Morphology, Phylogeny and Pathogenicity of Colletotrichum menglaense sp. nov., Isolated from Air in China

by Min Qiao, Jie Li, Lin-lin Fang, Jian-ying Li and Ze-fen Yu

Pathogens 2021, 10(10), 1243; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens10101243 - 26 Sep 2021

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2474

Abstract

A new species, Colletotrichum menglaense, isolated from air in Mengla, Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province, China, was characterized and described combining morphological characteristics and multigene phylogenetic analysis. Morphologically, it is characterized by oblong, sometimes slightly constricted, micro-guttulate conidia and simple obovoid to ellipsoidal appressoria. Phylogenetic analysis of the ITS, ACT, CHS, and GAPDH sequences showed that C. menglaense belongs to the C. gloeosporioides complex. The pathogenicity of C. menglaense on fruits of several crop plants, including strawberry, orange, grape, tomato, and blueberry, was tested and confirmed by the re-isolation of C. menglaense. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Colletotrichum spp. on Fruit Crops – State of the Art, Perspectives and Drawbacks)

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15 pages, 2214 KiB

Open AccessArticle

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

by Xuan Liu, Xiaojuan Zheng, Muhammad Ibrahim Khaskheli, Xiaofang Sun, Xiaoli Chang and Guoshu Gong

Pathogens 2020, 9(9), 718; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens9090718 - 31 Aug 2020

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 4117

Abstract

Anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum spp. is an important disease of blueberries and results in large economic losses for blueberry growers. Samples of anthracnose were collected from six main blueberry cultivation areas in Sichuan Province. In total, 74 Colletotrichum isolates were obtained through a single-spore purification method and identified to the species through morphological characteristics and phylogenetic analyses based on partial DNA sequences of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions, and the β-tubulin (TUB2), actin (ACT) and calmodulin (CAL) genes. Among all species, Colletotrichum fructicola was the most dominant species, with an isolation percentage of up to 66.2% in Sichuan, followed by Colletotrichum siamense (17.6%), C. kahawae (5.4%), C. karstii (5.4%), C. nymphaeae (2.7%) and C. sichuaninese (2.7%). Pathogenicity tests showed all species were able to cause typical anthracnose symptoms on blueberry leaves and stems. Colletotrichum fructicola was the predominant species with strong aggressiveness. Moreover, C. fructicola, C. kahawae, C. sichuaninese and C. nymphaeae are first reported here to cause blueberry anthracnose. This study provides a comprehensive reference for the association of different Colletotrichum spp., which may support the sustainable management of blueberry anthracnose. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Colletotrichum spp. on Fruit Crops – State of the Art, Perspectives and Drawbacks)

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12 pages, 4139 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Persistent Calyxes in Postbloom Fruit Drop: A Microscopy and Microanalysis Perspective

by João Paulo Rodrigues Marques, Marcel Bellato Spósito, Lilian Amorim, Gabriel Sgarbiero Montanha, Geraldo José Silva Junior, Hudson Wallace Pereira de Carvalho and Beatriz Appezzato-da-Glória

Pathogens 2020, 9(4), 251; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens9040251 - 28 Mar 2020

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3079

Abstract

Citrus postbloom fruit drop, caused by Colletotrichum spp., is an important disease in the Americas. The pathogen infects citrus flowers, produces orange-brown lesions on petals, and may cause the abscission of young fruit. In diseased flowers, the calyxes remain attached to the peduncle after the young fruit drop. No anatomical and microanalysis studies have been conducted to determine whether calyx tissues can be infected by Colletotrichum spp. and why calyxes remain attached to the peduncle. Based on light microscopy, we demonstrate that the ovary abscission zone exhibits a separation region composed of layers of thickened lignified walled cells, indicating that abscission involves the disruption of cell walls. The first layers of the protective zone (PZ) are composed of densely packed cells with suberized walls produced by the wound meristem. Beneath the PZ, there is a compact mass of small cells that accumulate starch grains. X-ray fluorescence microanalysis (µ-XRF) confirmed the increased accumulation of calcium in the receptacle of the persistent calyxes compared to non-inoculated citrus flowers. Moreover, the peduncle pith and the receptacle exhibit hypertrophied cells with thick walls that may be related to calyx retention. Fungal structures are not observed inside the persistent calyx tissues. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Colletotrichum spp. on Fruit Crops – State of the Art, Perspectives and Drawbacks)

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16 pages, 6967 KiB

Open AccessArticle

CgSCD1 Is Essential for Melanin Biosynthesis and Pathogenicity of Colletotrichum gloeosporioides

by Tan Wang, Dandan Ren, Han Guo, Xue Chen, Pinkuan Zhu, Haozhen Nie and Ling Xu

Pathogens 2020, 9(2), 141; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens9020141 - 20 Feb 2020

Cited by 26 | Viewed by 3512

Abstract

Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, an important phytopathogenic fungus, mainly infects tropical fruits and results in serious anthracnose. Previous studies have shown that melanin biosynthesis inhibitor can inhibit the melanization of the appressoria of Magnaporthe grisea and Colletotrichum orbiculare, resulting in limited infection of the hosts. In this study, we identified and characterized a scytalone dehydratase gene (CgSCD1) from C. gloeosporioides which is involved in melanin synthesis. The CgSCD1 gene deletion mutant ΔCgscd1 was obtained using homologous recombination. The ΔCgscd1 mutant showed no melanin accumulation on appressoria formation and vegetative hyphae. Furthermore, the virulence of ΔCgscd1 was significantly reduced in comparison with the wild-type (WT) strain. Further investigations showed that the growth rate as well as germination and appressorium formation of ΔCgscd1 displayed no difference compared to the wild-type and complemented transformant Cgscd1^com strains. Furthermore, we found that the appressorial turgor pressure in the ΔCgscd1 mutant showed no difference compared to that in the WT and Cgscd1^com strains in the incipient cytorrhysis experiment. However, fewer infectious hyphae of ΔCgscd1 were observed in the penetration experiments, suggesting that the penetration ability of nonpigmented appressoria was partially impaired. In conclusion, we identified the CgSCD1 gene, which is involved in melanin synthesis and pathogenicity, and found that the melanization defect did not affect appressorial turgor pressure in C. gloeosporioides. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Colletotrichum spp. on Fruit Crops – State of the Art, Perspectives and Drawbacks)

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