Characterization and Pathogenicity of New Record of Anthracnose on Various Chili Varieties Caused by Colletotrichum scovillei in Korea

Abstract

The anthracnose disease caused by Colletotrichum species is well-known as a major plant pathogen that primarily causes fruit rot in pepper and reduces its marketability. Thirty-five isolates representing species of Colletotrichum were obtained from chili fruits showing anthracnose disease symptoms in Chungcheongnam-do and Chungcheongbuk-do, South Korea. These 35 isolates were characterized according to morphological characteristics and nucleotide sequence data of internal transcribed spacer, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate-dehydrogenase, and β-tubulin. The combined dataset shows that all of these 35 isolates were identified as C. scovillei and morphological characteristics were directly correlated with the nucleotide sequence data. Notably, these isolates were recorded for the first time as the causes of anthracnose caused by C. scovillei on pepper in Korea. Forty cultivars were used to investigate the pathogenicity and to identify the possible source of resistance. The result reveals that all of chili cultivars used in this study are susceptible to C. scovillei.

Optimization of Polyethylene Glycol-Mediated Transformation of the Pepper Anthracnose Pathogen Colletotrichum scovillei to Develop an Applied Genomics Approach

“…1). This result is consistent with that of Oo et al (2017) and further indicates that C . acutatum KC05 is C .…”

“…scovillei has frequently been identified as a causal agent, most frequently from fruit-rots including peppers. Supportively, Oo et al (2017) collected 35 isolates of Colletotrichum sp. from infected pepper fruits in South Korea, and subsequently identified the isolates using the TUB2, GAPDH, and ITS sequences of strain CBS 126529.…”

“…Among these, C . annuum is the most common and widely cultivated species worldwide (Oo et al, 2017, Saxena et al, 2016). In Korea, pepper is one of the most popular vegetables; approximately 72 thousand tons of peppers were produced in Korea in 2018, an increase of 16 thousand tons (28.4%) from 56 thousand tons in 2017 (KOSTAT, Statistics Korea, http://kostat.go.kr/portal/eng/).…”

“…nicotianae , which cause phytophthora blight (Chi et al, 2013; Mannai et al, 2018; Than et al, 2008). Among these diseases, anthracnose is the most devastating fungal disease of pepper worldwide; yield losses of pepper are estimated at more than $100 million USD in Korea (Oo et al, 2017; Than et al, 2008). The genus Colletotrichum contains approximately 189 species.…”

Culture storage age and fungal re‐isolation from host‐tissue influence Colletotrichum spp. virulence to pepper fruits

“…For instance, C. scovillei is considered one of the most destructive species of Colletotrichum that causes severe anthracnose in both wounded and unwounded fruits (Mongkolporn & Taylor, ). This species has been reported in the Brazil (Silva et al, ), China (Diao, Zhang, & Liu, ), Indonesia (Damm, Cannon, Woudenberg, & Crous, ), Japan (Kanto et al, ), Korea (Oo, Lim, & jang HA, Oh S‐K, ), Taiwan (Liao et al, ), Thailand (Damm et al, ) and most recently in the Philippines (Dela Cueva et al, ). Little is known of the distribution of C. scovillei in the Philippines (Balendres et al, ), and surveys are likely to provide better understanding of its importance and potential impact in the pepper industry.…”