Field application of Bacillus subtilis and Aureobasidium pullulans to reduce Monilinia laxa post-harvest rot on cherry

Brown rot caused by Monilinia spp. is one of the most important diseases in stone fruits worldwide. Latent infections of fruit by the pathogen often manifest once the fruit is ripe, leading to post-harvest rots. Two microbial strains (Bacillus subtilis -B91 and Aureobasidium pullulans - Y126) have shown antagonistic properties against M. laxa in previous studies. This study assessed the reduction in post-harvest rot of cherry by M. laxa when the two biocontrol (BCAs) strains were applied pre-harvest under field conditions to fruit artificially inoculated with M. laxa. The experiment was carried out for two consecutive years in cherry orchards in Kent. When applied pre-harvest, both strains (B91 and Y126) reduced the incidence of post-harvest rots by 30% - 60%. This promising result helps towards the commercialisation of the two strains, which would reduce reliance on fungicides in commercial cherry production.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10658-022-02508-8.

Comparative analysis of genomic- and EST-SSRs in European plum (Prunus domestica L.): implications for the diversity analysis of polyploids

Simple sequence repeats (SSRs) are among the most useful DNA markers in plant science. The aim of this study was to compare the features and usefulness of genomic SSR (gSSR) and EST-SSRs in European plum (Prunus domestica L.), an economically important, hexaploid stone fruit crop globally cultivated to produce fleshy fruits and derived foodstuff. The analysis of an ample set of morphologically diverse varieties indicated that gSSRs and EST-SSRs provide different estimates of some of the locus-based indicators of diversity. Moreover, the two classes of SSRs gave different, weakly correlated, estimations of distance-based parameters with gSSRs being more powerful for discriminating purposes. The two SSR classes provide complementary information in European plum, making the contribution of EST-SSRs useful not only as non-neutral markers. The differences between SSR classes are discussed considering the neutral and non-neutral evolution, and the polyploidy and asexual propagation of the cultivated tree varieties.

Production, pomological and nutraceutical properties of apricot

Apricot (Prunus sp.) is an important fruit crop worldwide. Despite recent advances in apricot research, much is still to be done to improve its productivity and environmental adaptability. The availability of wild apricot germplasms with economically interesting traits is a strong incentive to increase research panels toward improving its economic, environmental and nutritional characteristics. New technologies and genomic studies have generated a large amount of raw data that the mining and exploitation can help decrypt the biology of apricot and enhance its agronomic values. Here, we outline recent findings in relation to apricot production, pomological and nutraceutical properties. In particular, we retrace its origin from central Asia and the path it took to attain Europe and other production areas around the Mediterranean basin while locating it in the rosaceae family and referring to its genetic diversities and new attempts of classification. The production, nutritional, and nutraceutical importance of apricot are recapped in an easy readable and comparable way. We also highlight and discuss the effects of late frost damages on apricot production over different growth stages, from swollen buds to green fruits formation. Issues related to the length of production season and biotic and abiotic environmental challenges are also discussed with future perspective on how to lengthen the production season without compromising the fruit quality and productivity.

Food intake biomarkers for apple, pear, and stone fruit

Fruit is a key component of a healthy diet. However, it is still not clear whether some classes of fruit may be more beneficial than others and whether all individuals whatever their age, gender, health status, genotype, or gut microbiota composition respond in the same way to fruit consumption. Such questions require further observational and intervention studies in which the intake of a specific fruit can be precisely assessed at the population and individual levels. Within the Food Biomarker Alliance Project (FoodBAll Project) under the Joint Programming Initiative “A Healthy Diet for a Healthy Life”, an ambitious action was undertaken aiming at reviewing existent literature in a systematic way to identify validated and promising biomarkers of intake for all major food groups, including fruits. This paper belongs to a series of reviews following the same BFIRev protocol and is focusing on biomarkers of pome and stone fruit intake. Selected candidate biomarkers extracted from the literature search went through a validation process specifically developed for food intake biomarkers.

Genome sequence of the brown rot fungal pathogen Monilinia fructigena

OBJECTIVES

Monilinia fructigena (phylum Ascomycota, family Sclerotiniaceae) is a plant pathogen that causes brown rot and blossom blight in pome fruit and stone fruit of the Rosaceae family, which can cause significant losses in the field and mainly postharvest. The aim of this study was to create a high-quality draft of the M. fructigena genome assembly and annotation that provides better understanding of the epidemiology of the pathogen and its interactions with the host(s) and will thus improve brown rot management.

DATA DESCRIPTION

We report here on the genome sequence of M. fructigena strain Mfrg269 that was collected from plum in southern Italy. This is assembled into 131 scaffolds, with a total size of 43.125 Mb, with 9960 unique protein-coding genes. The novel genomic resources allow improved genomic comparisons among the most important pathogens belonging to the Monilinia genus, with the aim being to improve the knowledge of their plant-pathogen interactions, population biology, and control.

Current achievements and future directions in genetic engineering of European plum (Prunus domestica L.)

In most woody fruit species, transformation and regeneration are difficult. However, European plum (Prunus domestica) has been shown to be amenable to genetic improvement technologies from classical hybridization, to genetic engineering, to rapid cycle crop breeding ('FasTrack' breeding). Since the first report on European plum transformation with marker genes in the early 90 s, numerous manuscripts have been published reporting the generation of new clones with agronomically interesting traits, such as pests, diseases and/or abiotic stress resistance, shorter juvenile period, dwarfing, continuous flowering, etc. This review focuses on the main advances in genetic transformation of European plum achieved to date, and the lines of work that are converting genetic engineering into a contemporary breeding tool for this species.

Influence of temperature on decay, mycelium development and sporodochia production caused by Monilinia fructicola and M. laxa on stone fruits

Brown rot on peaches and nectarines caused by Monilinia spp. results in significant economic losses in Europe. Experiments were conducted to study the effects of temperature (0-33 °C) on the temporal dynamics of decay and mycelium development and the subsequent sporulation on peaches and nectarine fruit infected by M. laxa and M. fructicola. The rates of decay and mycelium development increased with temperature from 0 °C to 25 °C for both Monilinia species. At 0 °C, decay was faster for M. laxa (0.20 cm² days^-1) than for M. fructicola (0.07 cm² days^-1); indeed, M. laxa was able to develop mycelia and sporodochia, but M. fructicola was not. At 4 and 20 °C, there were no differences in decay and mycelia development between the two Monilinia species. When temperature increased from 25 to 33 °C, the rates of fungal decay and mycelium development decreased. At 30 and 33 °C, M. fructicola decayed faster (0.94 and 1.2 cm² days^-1, respectively) than M. laxa (0.78 and 0.74 cm² days^-1, respectively) and could develop mycelia and produce sporodochia, whereas M. laxa failed at 33 °C. These results indicated that M. fructicola is better adapted to high temperatures, whereas M. laxa is better adapted to low temperatures. These results can be used to predict the relative importance of the two species during the season at a given site and to improve management strategies for brown rot in areas where both species are present.