Paraconiothyrium fuckelii, Diaporthe eres and Neocosmospora parceramosa causing cane blight of red raspberry in Northern Italy

Abstract

Red raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.) represents a relevant crop which production has largely increased worldwide during the last decade. Cane blight is one of the most common diseases of red raspberry and it can produce considerable losses. During 2019–2021, surveys were conducted in red raspberry orchards in Cuneo province, Northern Italy, to investigate the etiology and pathogen diversity in association with cane blight. Eleven isolates were collected from symptomatic plants of the cultivars ‘Diamond Jubilee’ and ‘Grandeur’, and were identified through multi-locus phylogenies and morphological features. Three fungal species were identified: Paraconiothyrium fuckelii, Diaporthe eres and Neocosmospora parceramosa. Four different genomic regions were included in the molecular analyses: ITS, tef1, tub2 and rpb2. The species pathogenicity was confirmed and P. fuckelii was revealed as the most aggressive. This study provides an insight into raspberry cane blight in Italy and the genomic loci sequencing lay the basis to develop specific diagnostic protocols to monitor the presence of pathogens and to prevent disease spread, adopting effective integrated control strategies.

New Species of Neocosmospora (Ascomycota) from China as Evidenced by Morphological and Molecular Data

“…L. Lombard & Crous can produce bioactive compounds and various enzymes with industrial utilization including hydrolases and laccases [11][12][13]. On the other hand, many of them are opportunistic phytopathogens that cause cankers, stem and root rot, and cane blight of numerous plants [5,8,10,[14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25], while a few species were reported as human pathogens [10]. Enhancing and updating our knowledge of Neocosmospora will provide useful information about the maintainable utilization of natural resources and protection against harmful species.…”

Abundance and diversity of fungal endophytes isolated from monk fruit (Siraitia grosvenorii) grown in a Canadian research greenhouse

“…Paraconiothyrium fuckelii (syn. Leptosphaeria coniothyrium , basionym: Coniothyrium fuckelii ) is a wound pathogen causing cane blight of raspberry, rose, and other woody hosts worldwide (Guarnaccia et al., 2022 ). It is also known as a saprobe, but its potential role as an endophyte in these hosts has not been explored.…”

“…Paraconiothyrium fuckelii (syn. Leptosphaeria coniothyrium, basionym: Coniothyrium fuckelii) is a wound pathogen causing cane blight of raspberry, rose, and other woody hosts worldwide (Guarnaccia et al, 2022).…”

Molecular identification of endophytic fungi in lawn grass (Axonopus compressus) and their pathogenic ability

“…Previously, F. parceramosum was known as the phylogenetic species FSSC18 reported as a rare human pathogen 25 . Later, F. parceramosum was recovered from plumbing systems 26 and was recently associated with the cane blight of raspberry 27 .…”