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. 2023 Oct 24;9(11):1042.
doi: 10.3390/jof9111042.

Characterization of Colletotrichum Species Infecting Litchi in Hainan, China

Xueren Cao  1 , Fang Li  1 , Huan Xu  2 , Huanling Li  1 , Shujun Wang  1 , Guo Wang  1 , Jonathan S West  3 , Jiabao Wang  1
Affiliations

Characterization of Colletotrichum Species Infecting Litchi in Hainan, China

Xueren Cao et al. J Fungi (Basel). .

Abstract

Litchi (Litchi chinensis) is an evergreen fruit tree grown in subtropical and tropical countries. China accounts for 71.5% of the total litchi cultivated area in the world. Anthracnose disease caused by Colletotrichum species is one of the most important diseases of litchi in China. In this study, the causal pathogens of litchi anthracnose in Hainan, China, were determined using phylogenetic and morphological analyses. The results identified eight Colletotrichum species from four species complexes, including a proposed new species. These were C. karsti from the C. boninense species complex; C. gigasporum and the proposed new species C. danzhouense from the C. gigasporum species complex; C. arecicola, C. fructicola species complex; C. arecicola, C. fructicola and C. siamense from the C. gloeosporioides species complex; and C. musicola and C. plurivorum from the C. orchidearum species complex. Pathogenicity tests showed that all eight species could infect litchi leaves using a wound inoculation method, although the pathogenicity was different in different species. To the best of our knowledge, the present study is the first report that identifies C. arecicola, C. danzhouense, C. gigasporum and C. musicola as etiological agents of litchi anthracnose.

Keywords: Colletotrichum species; identification; litchi; pathogenicity; phylogenetic.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
A Bayesian inference phylogenetic tree built using concatenated sequences of ITS, ACT, CHS-1, GAPDH, TUB2 and ApMat for the Colletotrichum spp. isolates from the C. gloeosporioides species complex. The species C. boninense (ICMP 17904) was used as an outgroup. Bayesian posterior probability values (PP ≥ 0.90) and RAxML bootstrap support values (ML ≥ 50%) are shown at the nodes. Ex-type isolates are shown in bold. Colored blocks indicate clades including isolates obtained in this study.
Figure 2
Figure 2
A Bayesian inference phylogenetic tree built using concatenated sequences of ITS, ACT, CHS-1, GAPDH and TUB2 for the Colletotrichum spp. isolates from the C. gigasporum, C. orchidearum and C. boninense species complex with C. gloeosporioides (ICMP 17821) as an outgroup. Bayesian posterior probability values (PP ≥ 0.90) and RAxML bootstrap support values (ML ≥ 50%) are shown at the nodes. Ex-type isolates are shown in bold. Colored blocks indicate clades including isolates obtained in this study.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The result of the pairwise homoplasy index (PHI) of Colletotrichum danzhouense and its phylogenetically related species using both a LogDet transformation and splits decomposition. No significant recombination event (p = 0.14) was observed within the datasets. Isolates obtained in this study are shown in bold.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Morphological characteristics of Colletotrichum danzhouense. (a,b) Front and reverse colony on PDA (7 day); (c,d) front and reverse colony on SNA (7 day); (e) conidia; (f–j) conidiophores; (k,l) setae; (m–p) appressoria; (e–p) produced on SNA. Scale bars = 10 μm.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Symptoms of litchi leaves (cv. Feizixiao) induced by inoculation of spore suspensions of eight Colletotrichum spp. after four days at 25 °C under unwounded (U) and wounded (W) conditions.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Lesion diameters of Colletotrichum species on litchi leaves (cv. Feizixiao) using wound inoculation methods. Letters over the error bars indicate a significant difference at the p = 0.05 level.
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