Australasian Plant Pathology (2021) 50, 267-279

D.D. de Silva, R.C. Mann, J. Kaur, P.N. Ekanayake, T.I. Sawbridge, S. McKay, P.W.J. Taylor and J. Edwards (2021)
Revisiting the Colletotrichum species causing anthracnose of almond in Australia
Australasian Plant Pathology 50 (3), 267-279
Abstract: Almond production is a significant horticulture crop for Australia. Serious yield losses can be caused by the fungal disease anthracnose, caused by Colletotrichum species that infect the fruit and leaves. Genomic sequence data for gene extraction, along with multigene phylogenetic analyses and whole genome average nucleotide identity (ANI) analysis were used to determine the phylogeny of Colletotrichum isolates collected from almonds across Australia. Multigene phylogenetic analyses of six gene regions (ITS, tub2, gapdh, chs-1, act and his3) identified C. acutatum sensu stricto, C. fioriniae and C. simmondsii as pathogens of almond. Similar topology was observed using ANI, which provided increased resolution within C. acutatum, with isolates separating largely according to geographic origin. The ANI analysis also supported three separate species with isolates within each species sharing >98.7% ANI (species cut off = 95%), while between species there was <90.5% ANI. Pathogenicity assays on detached almond leaves revealed differences in aggressiveness among representative isolates from the three species, with higher susceptibility on leaves of variety Price than Nonpareil. This is the first report of C. fioriniae and C. simmondsii causing anthracnose of almond globally.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Paul W.J. Taylor, Jacqueline Edwards

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
general biology - morphology - evolution
surveys/sampling/distribution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Colletotrichum acutatum	Almond (Prunus dulcis)	Australia (South+SE)
	Colletotrichum simmondsii	Almond (Prunus dulcis)	Australia (NT+QLD)
	Colletotrichum fioriniae	Almond (Prunus dulcis)	Australia (South+SE)