Penicillium and Talaromyces Species as Postharvest Pathogens of Pear Fruit (Pyrus communis) in Serbia

Abstract

Pears are one of the oldest and the third most important fruit species grown in temperate regions. They are consumed because of their nutritional and health benefits, in fresh form or as various processed products. This paper resolves the etiology of the Penicillium-like mold symptoms on pear fruits in Serbia. Samples of pear fruits with blue mold and other Penicillium-like mold symptoms were collected in Serbia from 2016 to 2019, from four storages. The recovered isolates were identified and characterized using polyphasic approach. Morphological and physiological analyses were performed on three media and five temperatures, respectively. Four loci (internal transcribed spacer, beta-tubulin, calmodulin, and DNA-dependent RNA polymerase II second largest subunit) were used for sequencing, genetic identification and phylogenetic analyses. The results of the identification using conventional and molecular methods were in agreement and they revealed that the obtained isolates belong to five species: Penicillium crustosum, P. expansum, P. italicum, Talaromyces minioluteus and T. rugulosus. In a pathogenicity test, P. crustosum, P. expansum, T. minioluteus and T. rugulosus produced decay on artificially inoculated pear fruits, and P. italicum induced tissue-response lesions. The results of this study are the first reports of T. minioluteus and T. rugulosus as postharvest pear pathogens. Also, these are the first world records of T. minioluteus, T. rugulosus and P. italicum on fruits of European pear. Further, this is the first finding of P. crustosum, P. expansum, P. italicum, T. minioluteus and T. rugulosus on pear fruit in Serbia.

Incidence, Speciation, and Morpho-Genetic Diversity of Penicillium spp. Causing Blue Mold of Stored Pome Fruits in Serbia

“…causing postharvest rot resulted in confirmatory and novel findings. Penicillium expansum and P. crustosum caused blue mold on stored apple and pears which is congruent with previous studies [20][21][22][23][24]55], while blue mold on quince caused by P. expansum, P. crustosum and P. solitum is a novel find in Serbia. Additionally, P. crustosum has not been identified on medlar nor quince, indicating two new hosts for this blue mold causing species.…”

Polyphasic identification of decay agents of lemon fruits in Serbia

“…Barkai-Golan (1974) conducted a research in Israel and confirmed this species as capable to cause lesions on fruits of apple, pear, grape and tomato. In one of our previous studies (Stošić et al, 2021) we identified T. rugulosus as spoilage agents of stored pear fruits in Serbia. Pitt and Hocking (2009) claim that this species could be pathogenic on plants probably more then the current data suggest.…”

New Insights into Chemical and Biological Properties of Funicone-like Compounds

“…[23,81], which are the dominant producers of funicones, the possible release of these compounds in plant products may arise during the postharvest phase, where the biosynthetic aptitudes can be boosted along with the saprophytic development. Recent reports of these fungi as postharvest pathogens concern T. albobiverticillius on pomegranate [82], T. rugulosus on grapes [83], T. minioluteus on onion bulbs and quince, orange, and tomato fruit [84], and both of the latter two species on pears [85]. Although none of these species are known to produce funicones, it is quite possible that other Talaromyces spp.…”