Characterization of Colletotrichum acutatum causing anthracnose of anemone (Anemone coronaria L.)

Anthracnose, or leaf-curl disease of anemone, caused by Colletotrichum sp., has been reported to occur in Australia, western Europe, and Japan. Symptoms include tissue necrosis, corm rot, leaf crinkles, and characteristic spiral twisting of floral peduncles. Three epidemics of the disease have been recorded in Israel: in 1978, in 1990 to 1993, and in 1996 to 1998. We characterized 92 Colletotrichum isolates associated with anthracnose of anemone (Anemone coronaria L.) for vegetative compatibility (72 isolates) and for molecular genotype (92 isolates) and virulence (4 isolates). Eighty-six of the isolates represented the three epidemics in Israel, one isolate was from Australia, and five isolates originated from western Europe. We divided these isolates into three vegetative-compatibility groups (VCGs). One VCG (ANE-A) included all 10 isolates from the first and second epidemics, and 13 of 62 examined isolates from the third epidemic in Israel, along with the isolate from Australia and 4 of 5 isolates from Europe. Another VCG (ANE-F) included most of the examined isolates (49 of the 62) from the third epidemic, as well as Colletotrichum acutatum from strawberry, in Israel. Based on PCR amplification with species-specific primers, all of the anemone isolates were identified as C. acutatum. Anemone and strawberry isolates of the two VCGs were genotypically similar and indistinguishable when compared by arbitrarily primed PCR of genomic DNA. Only isolate NL-12 from The Netherlands, confirmed as C. acutatum but not compatible with either VCG, had a distinct genotype; this isolate represents a third VCG of C. acutatum. Isolates from anemone and strawberry could infect both plant species in artificial inoculations. VCG ANE-F was recovered from natural infections of both anemone and strawberry, but VCG ANE-A was recovered only from anemone. This study of C. acutatum from anemone illustrates the potential of VCG analysis to reveal distinct subspecific groups within a pathogen population which appears to be genotypically homogeneous by molecular assays.     

A Glomerella species phylogenetically related to Colletotrichum acutatum on Norway maple in Massachusetts

A fungus isolated from Norway maple (Acer platanoides) in the Boston, Massachusetts, area was determined to be a species of Glomerella, the teleomorph of Colletotrin chum acutatum. Pure cultures of the fungus were obtained from discharged ascospores from perithecia in leaf tissue. This fungus was determined to be homothallic based on the observation of perithecial development in cultures of single-spore isolates grown on minimal salts media and with sterile toothpicks. A morphological and molecular analysis was conducted to determine the taxonomic position of this fungus. Parsimony analyses of a combined nucleotide dataset of the ITS and LSU rDNA region, and of the D1-D2 LSU rDNA region, indicated that this species has phylogenetic affinities with Colletotrichum acutatum, C. acutatum f. sp. pineum, C. lupini, C. phormii and G. miyabeana. These results are significant because C. acutatum has not been reported on Acer platanoides. In addition the consistent presence of perithecia on leaf tissue and in culture is unusual for Colletotrichum, suggesting that the teleomorphic state is important in the life cycle of this fungus.     

Molecular and phenotypic analyses reveal association of diverse Colletotrichum acutatum groups and a low level of C. gloeosporioides with olive anthracnose

Anthracnose (Colletotrichum spp.) is an important disease causing major yield losses and poor oil quality in olives. The objectives were to determine the diversity and distribution pattern of Colletotrichum spp. populations prevalent in olives and their relatedness to anthracnose pathogens in other hosts, assess their pathogenic variability and host preference, and develop diagnostic tools. A total of 128 Colletotrichum spp. isolates representing all olive-growing areas in Portugal and a few isolates from other countries were characterized by molecular and phenotypic assays and compared with reference isolates. Arbitrarily primed PCR data, internal transcribed spacer of rRNA gene and beta-tubulin 2 nucleotide sequences, colony characteristics, and benomyl sensitivity showed Colletotrichum acutatum to be dominant (>97%) with limited occurrence of Colletotrichum gloeosporioides (<3%). Among C. acutatum populations, five molecular groups, A2 to A6, were identified. A2 was widely prevalent (89%), coinciding with a high incidence of anthracnose and environmental conditions suitable to disease spread. A4 was dominant in a particular region, while other C. acutatum groups and C. gloeosporioides were sporadic in their occurrence, mostly related to marginal areas of olive cultivation. C. gloeosporioides, isolated from olive fruits with symptoms indistinguishable from those of C. acutatum, showed same virulence rating as the most virulent C. acutatum isolate from group A2. C. acutatum and C. gloeosporioides isolates tested in infected strawberry fruits and strawberry and lupin plants revealed their cross-infection potential. Diagnostic tools were developed from beta-tubulin 2 sequences to enable rapid and reliable pathogen detection and differentiation of C. acutatum groups.     

Characterization of diversity in Colletotrichum acutatum sensu lato by sequence analysis of two gene introns, mtDNA and intron RFLPs, and mating compatibility

A diverse collection of isolates identified as Colletotrichum acutatum, including a range of fruit-rot and foliar pathogens, was examined for mtDNA RFLPs and RFLPs and sequence variation of a 900-bp intron of the glutamine synthetase (GS) gene and a 200-bp intron of the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH) gene. RFLPs of mtDNA, RFLPs of the 900-bp GS intron and sequence analysis of each intron identified the same seven distinct molecular groups, or clades, within C. acutatum sensu lato. Sequence analysis produced highly concordant tree topologies with definitive phylogenetic relationships within and between the clades. The clades might represent phylogenetically distinct species within C. acutatum sensu lato. Mating tests also were conducted to assess sexual compatibility with tester isolates known to outcross to form the teleomorph Glomerella acutata. Mating compatibility was identified within one clade, C, and between two phylogenetically distinct clades, C and J4. The C clade represented isolates from a wide range of hosts and geographic origins. J4 clade contained isolates from Australia or New Zealand recovered from fruit rot and pine seedlings with terminal crook disease. That isolates in two phylogenetically distinct clades were capable of mating suggests that genetic isolation occurred before reproductive isolation. No other isolates were sexually compatible with the mating testers, which also were in groups C and J4. Certain clades identified by mtDNA and intron analysis (D1, J3 and J6) appeared to represent relatively host-limited populations. Other clades (C1, F1 and J4) contained isolates from a wide range of hosts. Isolates described as C. acutatum f. sp. pineum were clearly polyphyletic.     

Contribution to the study of the chemical composition of Verticillium albo-atrum secretions in liquid media

Slower growth at temperatures ranging from 15 to 32.5 °C and high tolerance of three fungicides, benomyl, carbendazim and thio- phanate methyl, were shown to be reliable characteristics in distinguishing rubber isolates of Colletotrichum acutatum from Colletotrichum gloeosporioides in addition to the characteristics reported previously. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Vegetative Compatibility Grouping of Colletotrichum kahawae in Kenya

Vegetative compatibility using nitrate nonutilizing ( nit ) mutants was analysed between 44 isolates of Colletotrichum kahawae from Kenya, one each from Ethiopia and Malawi, one of Colletotrichum gloeosporioides and one of Colletotrichum acutatum . Another isolate of C. kahawae did not generate mutants and thus could not be utilized. The results showed that all the C. kahawae isolates, except a white sector mutant (VCG2), belonged to one vegetative compatibility group (VCG4). The other species belonged to their own unique groups (VCGs 1 and 3). Implications of the results and future research needs on the subject are discussed.     

Protein and Esterase Patterns of Pathogenic, Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. elaeidis and F. oxysporum var. redolens from Africa, and Non-Pathogenic K oxysporum from Malaysia

Protein and esterase patterns of eleven isolates of F. oxysporum f. sp. elaeidis, one isolate of F. oxysporum var. redolens pathogenic to oil palm from Africa and six non-pathogenic isolates of F. oxysporum from oil palm soils in Malaysia were studied by vertical disc-electrophoresis and isoelectric focusing, to determine whether the pathogenic and saprophytic forms of F. oxysporum could be distinguished using these two methods. The protein patterns of all the isolates studied by the two methods were almost identical qualitatively and it was impossible to distinguish between the pathogenic isolates of F. oxysporum f. sp. elaeidis and F. oxysporum var. redolens from Africa and saprophytic isolates of F. oxysporum from Malaysia. Esterase zymograms of the isolates produced by the two methods were different. Esterase zymograms produced by vertical disc-electrophoresis showed great variations between and within the African and Malaysian isolates, but the esterase patterns produced by isoelectric focusing were almost identical qualitatively.     

Diagnosis of Clinical Bovine Mastitis by Fine Needle Aspiration Followed by Staining and Scanning Electron Microscopy in a Prototheca zopfii Outbreak

Fruit anthracnose of ugurassa caused by Colletotrichum acutatum is hereby reported for the first time in Sri Lanka and it is proposed that C. acutatum is considered together with C. gloeosporioides, as a causal agent of this disease. C. acutatum was characterised by fusiform conidia and white to orange colonies with slight shades of light mouse grey aerial mycelia. C. gloeosporioides produced grey colonies with a dark mouse grey centre and conidia were cylindrical. The other differences between the ugurassa isolate of C. acutatum and C. gloeosporioides were slower growth at temperatures ranging from 15-30 degrees C and extremely high tolerance of two fungicides, carbendazim and thiophanate methyl.     

Characterization of the membrane sensor PenJ for β-lactam antibodies from Bacillus licheniformis by amino acid substitution

Abstract The beta scanner and pattern matching software integrated in the automated microbiology identification system (AMBIS) were used to assess the relatedness of isolates of Colletotrichum acutatum, C. kahawae, C. fragariae, C. gloeosporioides and C. musae based on mitochondrial DNA restriction fragment length polymorphisms. The dendrograms generated reflected the intra-specific variation and inter-specific relationships of these species as determined by other previously reported methods. The adaptability of AMBIS as a rapid method for assessing genetic relatedness of fungal species based on DNA polymorphisms is discussed.     

Cryptococcus neoformans var. gattii isolates from two Peruvian patients.

The ecology of Cryptococcus neoformans var. gatti is restricted to tropical and subtropical areas whereas C. neoformans var. neoformans is cosmopolitan. Perú is a country with three different well defined geographic areas, some of them have the conditions for the presence of the variety gattii. In order to determine the presence of the two varieties of C. neoformans in Perú, we made the C. neoformans differentiation from the clinical isolates. C. neoformans var. gattii was identified by their ability to assimilate D-proline. We tested 68 strains; only two of them were recognized as the variety gattii and were recovered from two patients without any predisposing factor. We described the clinical spectrum of these two patients, who were diagnosed with disseminated cryptococcosis and cryptococcal meningitis. Neither the presence of Eucalyptus camaldulensis nor Eucalyptus tereticornis has been reported in Perú. So there should exist other ecologic niches for the presence of C. neoformans var. gattii in our country, different from those mentioned.     

The distinctive population structure of Colletotrichum species associated with olive anthracnose in the Algarve region of Portugal reflects a host–pathogen diversity hot spot

Anthracnose ( Colletotrichum spp.) is an important disease of olive fruits. Diversity and biogeographic relationships of the olive anthracnose pathogens in the Algarve (Portugal) were investigated, along with host association patterns and disease levels during 2004–2007, to test the hypothesis that this region is a host–pathogen diversity hot spot. Diverse Colletotrichum acutatum and Colletotrichum gloeosporioides populations were identified based on rRNA-internal transcribed spacer and partial β-tubulin 2 gene sequences of 95 isolates. Spatial and temporal variations in the occurrence of the eight genetic entities of the pathogens were linked to olive biogeography. Disease occurrence patterns suggest that C. acutatum populations are more stable pathogens, while C. gloeosporioides populations appear to be more influenced by favourable conditions. Three unique C. acutatum populations were identified, but none of the eight populations were dominant, with the most frequent type representing only 27%. Thus, the population structure of olive anthracnose pathogens in the Algarve is distinct from other parts of Portugal and other world locations, where only one or two genetic entities are dominant. This pattern and level of genetic diversity in a restricted area, where oleaster (wild olive tree), ancient landraces and modern cultivars of olive occur in close proximity, suggests the Algarve as a centre of diversity of the anthracnose pathogens and corroborates recent work suggesting western Mediterranean as an important centre of olive diversity and domestication.     

银杏产黄酮内生真菌的分离与鉴定

为实现真菌发酵生产黄酮,用HPLC和氯化铝比色法,从四川、贵州、山东等地采集的银杏根、茎、叶中分离到7株产黄酮真菌。分子和形态学鉴定结果表明:这些菌株分别属于Colletotrichum和Fusarium,菌株QC102经鉴定为Colletotrichumacutatum Simmonds,其总黄酮产量为8.2μg/mL。     

Steroid transformations with Fusarium oxysporum var. cubense and Colletotrichum musae

The utility of two locally isolated fungi, pathogenic to banana, for steroid biotransformation has been studied. The deuteromycetes Fusarium oxysporum var. cubense (IMI 326069, UAMH 9013) and Colletotrichum musae (IMI 374528, UAMH 8929) had not been examined previously for this potential. In general, F. oxysporum var. cubense effected 7alpha hydroxylation on 3beta-hydroxy-delta5-steroids, 6beta, 12beta, and 15alpha hydroxylation on steroidal-4-ene-3-ones, side-chain degradation on 17alpha,21-dihydroxypregnene-3,20-diones, and 15alpha hydroxylation on estrone. Both strains were shown to perform redox reactions on alcohols and ketones.     

In vitro antifungal susceptibility of clinical isolates of Cryptococcus neoformans var. neoformans and C. neoformans var. gattii

One of the differences observed between the two varieties of Cryptococcus neoformansis the greater difficulty to achieve an adequate therapeutical response in patients affected by C. neoformans var. gattii, an observation that has been validated in vitro only rarely. The aim of this work was to study the susceptibility patterns of 35 Colombian clinical isolates of C. neoformans, 20 of which belonged to the var. neoformans and 15 to the var. gattii. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined by broth microdilution, according to a modification of the methodology proposed by the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (NCCLS), using the breakpoints recently suggested by Nguyen et al. (Antimicrob Agents Chemother 1998; 42: 471-472). The antifungals tested were amphotericin B, fluconazole and itraconazole. Most of the isolates were susceptible to the three antimycotics tested regardless of the variety. Resistance to amphotericin B (MIC=2 microg/ml) was documented in two (10%) C. neoformans var. neoformans isolates; additionally, five (33%) C. neoformans var. gattii isolates felt in the category of fluconazole susceptible but dose dependent (MIC 16 microg/ml). In general, all C. neoformans var. gattii isolates proved susceptible only to the higher concentrations of the antifungals tested. For amphotericin B, seven (47%) isolates of this variety had MICs of 1 microg/ml, for fluconazole there were seven (47%) with MICs of 8 microg/ml and in the case of itraconazole, 10 isolates (66%) had MICs > 0.03 microg/ml. The data showed that although these isolates would be classified as susceptible, they actually require greater concentrations of the antifungals to be inhibited. This finding may well correlate both with the difficulty to attain therapeutic success in patients affected with C. neoformans var. gattii and with the need for more prolonged treatment courses in such cases.     

胶孢炭疽菌的菟丝子专化型

本文报道对寄生菟丝子的两个炭疽菌(Colletotrichum Corda)分离系(鲁保一号New-76)的鉴定结果。两分离系按其培养特性、分生孢子和附着孢的形态、大小及产孢细胞、分生孢子盘的特点,应属于胶孢炭疽菌[Colletotrichum gloeosporioides(Penz.)Sacc.],但在对寄主的选择性方面不同于该种的其他分离系,特别是对菟丝子(Cussuta chinensis)具有寄生专化性,故确定为胶孢炭疽菌菟丝子专化型[C.gloeosporioides(Penz.)Sacc.f.sp.cuseutae]。     

Molecular characterization of bla(IMP-5), a new integron-borne metallo-beta-lactamase gene from an Acinetobacter baumannii nosocomial isolate in Portugal

Postbloom fruit drop (PFD) of citrus is caused by Colletotrichum acutatum. PFD isolates infect flower petals, induce abscission of small fruit and can cause severe yield loss on most citrus cultivars. Isolates from Key lime anthracnose (KLA) cause that disease on the Mexican lime, but also cause PFD on sweet orange. Both PFD and KLA isolates exhibited resistance to the common selection agents including hygromycin, bialaphos, benomyl and geneticin/G418. A genetic transformation system was developed for C. acutatum to confer resistance to sulfonylurea (chlorimuron ethyl) by expressing an acetolactate synthase gene (sur) cassette from Magnaporthe grisea. The protocol was tested on 11 different KLA and PFD isolates. The transformation frequencies were highly variable among isolates and among experiments (0-17.9 per microg circular DNA using 10(7) protoplasts). Southern blot analysis of transformants indicated that the plasmid vector was randomly integrated in multiple copies into the genome of C. acutatum. Addition of restriction enzymes or use of a vector with homologous sequences did not change the transformation frequencies, but tended to reduce the number integrated. Over 97% of the transformants retained the sulfonylurea resistance phenotype under non-selective conditions. Of 300 transformants tested, three were unable to cause necrotic lesions on detached Key lime leaves. The transformation method opens up opportunities for the genetic manipulation of C. acutatum.     

Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation in Colletotrichum falcatum and C. acutatum

Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation (ATMT) is becoming an effective system as an insertional mutagenesis tool in filamentous fungi. We developed and optimized ATMT for two Colletotrichum species, C. falcatum and C. acutatum, which are the causal agents of sugarcane red rot and pepper anthracnose, respectively. A. tumefaciens strain SK1044, carrying a hygromycin phosphotransferase gene (hph) and a green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene, was used to transform the conidia of these two Colletotrichum species. Transformation efficiency was correlated with cocultivation time and bacterial cell concentration and was higher in C. falcatum than in C. acutatum. Southern blot analysis indicated that about 65% of the transformants had a single copy of the T-DNA in both C. falcatum and C. acutatum and that T-DNA integrated randomly in both fungal genomes. T-DNA insertions were identified in transformants through thermal asymmetrical interlaced PCR (TAIL-PCR) followed by sequencing. Our results suggested that ATMT can be used as a molecular tool to identify and characterize pathogenicity-related genes in these two economically important Colletotrichum species.     

Pathogenicity of Metarhizium anisopliae (Metsch.) Sorokin and Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) Vuillemin,to three adult fruit fly species: Ceratitis capitata (Weidemann), C. rosa var. fasciventris Karsch and C. cosyra (Walker) (Diptera :Tephritidae)

The pathogenicity of two isolates of Beauveria bassiana and 12 of Metarhizium anisopliae towards adult fruit flies, Ceratitis capitata and Ceratitis rosa var. fasciventris was tested in the laboratory. Fruit flies were exposed to dry conidia evenly spread on velvet material covering the inner side of a cylindrical plastic tube. All isolates tested were pathogenic to both species of fruit flies. Mortality ranged from 7 to 100% in C. capitata and from 11.4 to 100% in C. rosa var. fasciventris at 4 days post-inoculation. Six isolates, M. anisopliae ICIPE 18, 20, 32, 40, 41 and 62, were highly pathogenic to both C. capitata and C. rosa var. fasciventris. The LT90 values of the most pathogenic isolates ranged between 3-4 days in both insects. Because of the difficulties in rearing C. cosyra, only the isolates that were highly pathogenic to both C. rosa var. fasciventris and C. capitata were tested against adult C. cosyra. They caused mortality of between 72-78% at 4 days post-inoculation. The LT90 values in all the isolates did not exceed 4 days. One of the most pathogenic isolates, M. anisopliae ICIPE 20, was evaluated against C. capitata and C. rosa var. fasciventris in cage experiments using three autoinoculators (maize cob, cheesecloth and Petri dish) in an autoinoculative device consisting of plastic mineral bottle. Mortality of between 70-93% was observed in flies of both species that were captured from the cages and held under laboratory conditions. These results indicate the possibility of fruit fly suppression with entomopathogenic fungi using an autoinoculative device.     

广东省柑橘炭疽病病原菌的形态与分子鉴定

炭疽病是柑橘的主要真菌性病害之一。2007年春,广东省德庆县名优柑橘品种贡柑炭疽病暴发流行。为了明确该县及广东省其他地区柑橘炭疽病菌的种类,为防治提供依据,对采集自广东省6个地区柑橘属10个栽培品种上的炭疽病样本进行病原菌分离,共获得柑橘炭疽病菌单孢菌株75株,对其中10株代表性的菌株进行了种类鉴定。通过培养性状和形态学特征观测、核糖体DNA(rDNA)内转录间区(ITS)序列分析、ITS区特异性引物PCR检测和系统发育关系比较等方面的研究,结果表明:10个柑橘炭疽病菌菌株均为盘长孢状刺盘孢Colletotrichum gloeosporioides,未发现国际上其他国家报道的严重危害柑橘花器和幼果部位的柑橘花后落果病病原菌——尖刺盘孢C.acutatum。