Mycologia (2008) 100, 227-235

Daniel T. O'Gorman, Peter L. Sholberg, Sarah C. Stokes and J. Ginns (2008)
DNA sequence analysis of herbarium specimens facilitates the revival of Botrytis mali, a postharvest pathogen of apple
Mycologia 100 (2), 227-235
Abstract: The fungus Botrytis cinerea has been widely accepted as the species responsible for causing gray mold decay of apple, although a second species causing apple decay, B. mali, was reported in 1931. Botrytis mali was validly published in 1931, nevertheless it has always been considered a doubtful species. To study the relationship of Botrytis isolates causing gray mold on apple, DNA sequence analysis was employed. Twenty-eight Botrytis isolates consisting of 10 species were sampled, including two B. mali herbarium specimens from apple originally deposited in 1932. The DNA sequence analysis of the ß-tubulin and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (G3PDH) genes placed the isolates into groupings with defined species boundaries that generally reflected the morphologically based model for Botrytis classification. The B. cinerea isolates from apple and other host plants were placed in a single clade. The B. mali herbarium specimens however always fell well outside that clade. The DNA sequence analysis reported in this study support the initial work by Ruehle (1931) describing the apple pathogen B. mali as a unique species.
(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): Daniel T. O'Gorman

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
identification/taxonomy
molecular biology - genes

---

Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Botrytis cinerea	Apple (Malus)
	Botrytis cinerea	Stored fruits/vegetables
	Botrytis mali	Apple (Malus)
	Botrytis mali	Stored fruits/vegetables