Anthracnose is a major disease of persimmon in the pre- and postharvest phase. Several species of Colletotrichum (Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, C. acutatum, and C. horii) have been reported as causal agents of persimmon anthracnose in South Korea. In this study, a collection of 50 isolates associated with persimmon anthracnose were collected from Sangju (n = 25) and Cheongdo-gun (n = 25), South Korea. The morphological characteristics of all 50 Colletotrichum isolates were similar, and it was difficult to identify the isolates to the species level. A subsample of eight isolates was characterized phylogenetically to ascertain species. BLAST search and phylogenetic analysis of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS), glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), and actin (ACT) genes revealed two species: C. horii as well as a previously unreported persimmon anthracnose causal agent C. siamense. C. siamense isolates were confirmed again by phylogenetic analysis of the ITS, ACT, GAPDH, calmodulin, and Apn2-Mat1-2 intergenic spacer partial mating type genes. Koch’s postulates for C. horii and C. siamense were fulfilled, confirming the pathogenicity of the two species in persimmon fruit. Morphological characteristics (colony morphology and size and shape of conidia and appressoria) from two representative isolates support results of the phylogenetic analysis and match those of previous descriptions of C. horii and C. siamense.

Apple fruits with anthracnose symptoms were collected from commercial apple orchards in different regions of the Republic of Korea, and isolations were made on potato dextrose agar to isolate the causal agents. The fungal isolates were identified based on their morphological characteristics, growth rates, and multigene sequences. Nine isolates were identified via phylogenetic analysis: three Colletotrichum fructicola, two C. fioriniae, one C. gloeosporioides sensu stricto (s.s.), two C. nymphaeae, and one C. siamense isolates. The pathogenicity of the Colletotrichum isolates was tested using detached apple fruits under laboratory conditions. This study also reidentified six Colletotrichum isolates responsible for apple anthracnose, which were deposited in the Korean Agricultural Culture Collection. Among the six isolates, three were identified as C. siamense (deposited as C. gloeosporioides s.s.), and three were C. nymphaeae (deposited as C. acutatum s.s.). All the Colletotrichum species identified in this study were highly sensitive to tebuconazole in terms of inhibition of mycelial growth (EC50 value of 0.12 to 2.1 μg/ml).

A total of 24 Colletotrichum isolates were isolated from diseased Japanese plum ( Prunus salicina ) fruits showing chlorotic regions with whitish-brown sunken necrotic lesions and phylogenetic relationships among the collected Colletotrichum isolates were determined. A subset of 11 isolates was chosen for further taxonomic study based on morphology and molecular characteristics identified using the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and beta-tubulin (TUB2) genes. Isolates in the C . acutatum complex were analyzed using partial sequencing of five gene regions (ITS, GAPDH, ACT, TUB2, and CHS), and C . gloeosporioides sensu lato (s.l.) isolates were analyzed using seven gene regions (ITS, TUB2, GAPDH, ACT, CAL, CHS-1, and ApMat). Morphological assessments in combination with phylogenetic analysis delineated four species of Colletotrichum including C . gloeosporioides sensu stricto (s.s.), C . nymphaeae , C . foriniae , and C . siamense ; these data identify Colletotrichum fioriniae and C. siamense two new species associated with plum anthracnose in South Korea. Finally, the pathogenicity of these four species in the development of plum anthracnose in South Korea was confirmed by inoculations of plum fruit.

Peach (Prunus persica L.) is one of the major fruit crops in South Korea, along with apple, persimmon, and Asian pears. Peach anthracnose is a continuing threat to growers and is accountable for enormous economic loss. In July 2018, anthracnose of peach appeared at different peach orchards in Gyeongsangbuk-do region, Korea. The typical anthracnose symptoms (brown, circular, and necrotic lesions) were observed on the fruits. Anthracnose of peach was surveyed in different peach orchards of Gyeongsangbuk-do, and 20 fungal isolates from 19 diseased fruits were collected. Multigene phylogenetic analyses coupled with morphological characteristic analysis approaches were used for identifying the fungal species isolated from diseased fruits. This study confirmed three Colletotrichum species. Based on the results, Colletotrichum siamense are reported for the first time as causal agents of peach anthracnose alongside C. fructicola and C. fioriniae, which has been reported previously. Pathogenicity assays were performed for the three isolates representing all the species identified, and Koch's postulates on detached healthy peach fruits were verified. All the identified species were pathogenic on peach fruits as the typical anthracnose symptoms were reproduced. Significant variations in the virulence were observed among fungal species on peach fruit.

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