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Waqas M, Prencipe S, Guarnaccia V, Spadaro D. Molecular Characterization and Pathogenicity of Alternaria spp. Associated with Black Rot of Sweet Cherries in Italy. J Fungi (Basel) 2023; 9:992. [PMID: 37888248 PMCID: PMC10607616 DOI: 10.3390/jof9100992] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2023] [Revised: 09/30/2023] [Accepted: 10/05/2023] [Indexed: 10/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Black rot is limiting the production of sweet cherries in Italy. Dark brown to black patches and sunken lesions on fruits are the most common symptoms of Alternaria black rot on sweet cherry fruits. We isolated 180 Alternaria spp. from symptomatic cherry fruits 'Kordia', 'Ferrovia', and 'Regina' harvested in Northern Italy, over three years, from 2020 to 2022. The aim was to identify and characterize a selection of forty isolates of Alternaria spp. based on morphology, pathogenicity, and combined analysis of rpb2, Alt-a1, endoPG and OPA10-2. The colonies were dark greyish in the center with white margins. Ellipsoidal or ovoid shaped conidia ranging from 19.8 to 21.7 μm in length were observed under a microscope. Based on the concatenated session of four gene regions, thirty-three out of forty isolates were identified as A. arborescens species complex (AASC), and seven as A. alternata. Pathogenicity was evaluated on healthy 'Regina' sweet cherry fruits. All the tested strains were pathogenic on their host. This study represents the first characterization of Alternaria spp. associated with black rot of cherries in Italy and, to the best of our knowledge, it is also the first report of AASC as an agent of black rot of sweet cherries in Italy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muhammad Waqas
- Department of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences (DISAFA), University of Torino, Largo Braccini 2, 10095 Grugliasco, TO, Italy; (M.W.); (S.P.); (V.G.)
| | - Simona Prencipe
- Department of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences (DISAFA), University of Torino, Largo Braccini 2, 10095 Grugliasco, TO, Italy; (M.W.); (S.P.); (V.G.)
| | - Vladimiro Guarnaccia
- Department of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences (DISAFA), University of Torino, Largo Braccini 2, 10095 Grugliasco, TO, Italy; (M.W.); (S.P.); (V.G.)
- AGROINNOVA—Interdepartmental Centre for Innovation in the Agro-environmental Sector, University of Torino, Largo Braccini 2, 10095 Grugliasco, TO, Italy
| | - Davide Spadaro
- Department of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences (DISAFA), University of Torino, Largo Braccini 2, 10095 Grugliasco, TO, Italy; (M.W.); (S.P.); (V.G.)
- AGROINNOVA—Interdepartmental Centre for Innovation in the Agro-environmental Sector, University of Torino, Largo Braccini 2, 10095 Grugliasco, TO, Italy
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Species of the Genera Neopestalotiopsis and Alternaria as Dominant Pathogen Species Attacking Mastic Trees (Pistacia lentiscus var. Chia). MICROBIOLOGY RESEARCH 2023. [DOI: 10.3390/microbiolres14010010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Between 2018 and 2021, several mastic trees (Pistacia lentiscus var. Chia) sampled in the field and the nursery of the Chios Mastiha Growers Association (CMGA) were analyzed to determine the cause of dominant diseases. Symptoms included defoliation, leaf, and twig blight, wilting and/or apoplexy of trees and apoplexy of young hardwood cuttings. Moreover, brown discoloration had also been observed on older woody parts of the trees such as branches and tree trunks. Several pathogens have been isolated and identified as the causing agents. Neopestalotiopsis and Alternaria species were isolated consistently from necrotic tissues of mastic trees (branches, twigs, and leaves) in the field and the nursery. All fungal isolates’ pathogenicity was confirmed by applying Koch’s postulates on young mastic trees under glasshouse conditions. Fungal pathogens were identified by sequence analyses of the ITS, β-tubulin, and histone gene regions. Alternaria species were analyzed further by sequencing the endopolygalacturonase (endoPG) and the Alternaria major allergen (Alta1) genes. More specifically, the isolates were identified as Neopestalotiopsis clavispora, Alternaria arborescens, and A. alternata based on morphological features and sequence analyses. This is the first report of N. clavispora, A. arborescens, and A. alternata on P. lentiscus var. Chia.
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Mincuzzi A, Sanzani SM, Palou L, Ragni M, Ippolito A. Postharvest Rot of Pomegranate Fruit in Southern Italy: Characterization of the Main Pathogens. J Fungi (Basel) 2022; 8:jof8050475. [PMID: 35628731 PMCID: PMC9143415 DOI: 10.3390/jof8050475] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2022] [Revised: 04/19/2022] [Accepted: 04/29/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) is an emerging crop in Italy and particularly in southern regions, such as Apulia, Basilicata, and Sicily, due to favorable climatic conditions. The crop is affected by several pathogenic fungi, primarily in the field, but also during postharvest phases. The most important postharvest fungal diseases in pomegranate are gray and blue molds, black heart and black spot, anthracnose, dry rot, and various soft rots. The limited number of fungicides allowed for treatment in the field and the lack of postharvest fungicides make it difficult to control latent, quiescent, and incipient fungal infections. Symptomatic pomegranates from southern Italy were sampled and isolated fungi were morphologically and molecularly characterized. The data obtained revealed that various species of Penicillium sensu lato (including Talaromyces genus), Alternaria spp., Coniella granati, and Botrytis cinerea were the principal etiological agents of postharvest pomegranate fruit diseases; other relevant pathogens, although less represented, were ascribable to Aspergillus sect. nigri, Colletotrichum acutatum sensu stricto, and Cytospora punicae. About two thirds of the isolated pathogens were responsible for latent infections. The results obtained may be useful in planning phytosanitary control strategies from the field to storage, so as to reduce yield losses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annamaria Mincuzzi
- Department of Soil, Plant, and Food Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Via Amendola 165/A, 70126 Bari, Italy; (S.M.S.); (A.I.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +39-080-544-3055
| | - Simona Marianna Sanzani
- Department of Soil, Plant, and Food Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Via Amendola 165/A, 70126 Bari, Italy; (S.M.S.); (A.I.)
| | - Lluís Palou
- Laboratori de Patologia, Centre de Tecnologia Postcollita (CTP), Institut Valencià d’Investigacions Agràries (IVIA), Ctra. CV-315 Km 10.7, 46113 Montcada, Valencia, Spain;
| | - Marco Ragni
- Department of Agro-Environmental and Territorial Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Via Amendola 165/A, 70126 Bari, Italy;
| | - Antonio Ippolito
- Department of Soil, Plant, and Food Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Via Amendola 165/A, 70126 Bari, Italy; (S.M.S.); (A.I.)
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Aloi F, Riolo M, Sanzani SM, Mincuzzi A, Ippolito A, Siciliano I, Pane A, Gullino ML, Cacciola SO. Characterization of Alternaria Species Associated with Heart Rot of Pomegranate Fruit. J Fungi (Basel) 2021; 7:172. [PMID: 33673441 PMCID: PMC7997272 DOI: 10.3390/jof7030172] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2021] [Revised: 02/24/2021] [Accepted: 02/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
This study was aimed at identifying Alternaria species associated with heart rot disease of pomegranate fruit in southern Italy and characterizing their mycotoxigenic profile. A total of 42 Alternaria isolates were characterized. They were obtained from pomegranate fruits with symptoms of heart rot sampled in Apulia and Sicily and grouped into six distinct morphotypes based on macro- and microscopic features. According to multigene phylogenetic analysis, including internal transcribed spacer (ITS), translation elongation factor 1-α (EF-1α), glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) and a SCAR marker (OPA10-2), 38 isolates of morphotypes 1 to 5 were identified as Alternaria alternata, while isolates of morphotype 6, all from Sicily, clustered within the Alternaria arborescens species complex. In particular, isolates of morphotype 1, the most numerous, clustered with the ex-type isolate of A. alternata, proving to belong to A. alternata. No difference in pathogenicity on pomegranate fruits was found between isolates of A. alternata and A. arborescens and among A. alternata isolates of different morphotypes. The toxigenic profile of isolates varied greatly: in vitro, all 42 isolates produced tenuazonic acid and most of them other mycotoxins, including alternariol, alternariol monomethyl ether, altenuene and tentoxin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesco Aloi
- Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy; (F.A.); (M.R.)
- Department of Agricultural, Food and Forest Sciences, University of Palermo, 90128 Palermo, Italy
| | - Mario Riolo
- Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy; (F.A.); (M.R.)
- Council for Agricultural Research and Agricultural Economy Analysis, Research Centre for Olive, Citrus and Tree Fruit–Rende CS (CREA- OFA), 87036 Rende, Italy
- Department of Agricultural Science, Mediterranean University of Reggio Calabria, 89122 Reggio Calabria, Italy
| | | | - Annamaria Mincuzzi
- Department of Soil, Plant, and Food Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Via Amendola 165/A, 70126 Bari, Italy; (A.M.); (A.I.)
| | - Antonio Ippolito
- Department of Soil, Plant, and Food Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Via Amendola 165/A, 70126 Bari, Italy; (A.M.); (A.I.)
| | - Ilenia Siciliano
- Agroinnova—Centre of Competence for the Innovation in the Agro-Environmental Sector, University of Turin, 10095 Turin, Italy; (I.S.); (M.L.G.)
| | - Antonella Pane
- Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy; (F.A.); (M.R.)
| | - Maria Lodovica Gullino
- Agroinnova—Centre of Competence for the Innovation in the Agro-Environmental Sector, University of Turin, 10095 Turin, Italy; (I.S.); (M.L.G.)
| | - Santa Olga Cacciola
- Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy; (F.A.); (M.R.)
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