Colletotrichum spaethianum Causing Anthracnose on Polygonatum cyrtonema in Anhui Province, China

HomePlant DiseaseVol. 105, No. 2Colletotrichum spaethianum Causing Anthracnose on Polygonatum cyrtonema in Anhui Province, China PreviousNext DISEASE NOTES OPENOpen Access licenseColletotrichum spaethianum Causing Anthracnose on Polygonatum cyrtonema in Anhui Province, ChinaJi Ma, Xiong Xiao, Xingyu Wang, and Min GuoJi MaKey Laboratory of Biology and Sustainable Management of Plant Diseases and Pests of Anhui Higher Education Institutes, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, ChinaCollege of Plant Protection, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, ChinaSearch for more papers by this author, Xiong XiaoKey Laboratory of Biology and Sustainable Management of Plant Diseases and Pests of Anhui Higher Education Institutes, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, ChinaCollege of Plant Protection, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, ChinaSearch for more papers by this author, Xingyu WangKey Laboratory of Biology and Sustainable Management of Plant Diseases and Pests of Anhui Higher Education Institutes, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, ChinaCollege of Plant Protection, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, ChinaSearch for more papers by this author, and Min Guo†Corresponding author: M. Guo; E-mail Address: kandylemon@163.comhttp://orcid.org/0000-0002-6434-1934Key Laboratory of Biology and Sustainable Management of Plant Diseases and Pests of Anhui Higher Education Institutes, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, ChinaCollege of Plant Protection, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, ChinaSearch for more papers by this author AffiliationsAuthors and Affiliations Ji Ma1 2 Xiong Xiao1 2 Xingyu Wang1 2 Min Guo1 2 † 1Key Laboratory of Biology and Sustainable Management of Plant Diseases and Pests of Anhui Higher Education Institutes, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China 2College of Plant Protection, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China Published Online:27 Nov 2020https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-04-20-0778-PDNAboutSectionsView articlePDFPDF PlusSupplemental ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmailWechat View articlePolygonatum cyrtonema Hua, also known as Huangjing, is an important traditional Chinese herb for treating diabetes and asthma. This plant is commercially planted (approximately 700 ha) in the highland of Anhui Province in China (Liu et al. 2016). In June 2019, brown spots on the leaves of P. cyrtonema were frequently observed in the field in Jinzhai County, Anhui Province. Disease incidence varied from 20 to 30% in a survey site (3 ha) of approximately 25,000 plants. Initially circular or elliptical, reddish colored spots with well-defined brown margin were observed on infected leaves. With time, the spots expanded to large elliptical or shuttle-shaped, pale to dark brown lesions within 10 to 15 days. To identify the pathogen, symptomatic tissues from the lesion margin were excised from 15 infected leaves, surface sterilized with 2% NaClO for 2 min followed by 70% ethanol for 30 s, rinsed three times with sterile water, air dried, plated on potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium supplemented with cefotaxime sodium salt (150 μg/ml), and incubated at 26°C for 3 to 4 days in the dark. Eight morphologically similar fungal isolates were obtained by single sporing. On PDA, colonies were initially white, and they turned pale gray with age. On the reverse side, colonies were initially pale brown and later turned dark black. Conidia were hyaline, curved or slightly curved, aseptate, with a truncate base and acute apex, and measured 14.38 to 20.57 × 2.03 to 5.28 μm (n = 50). The appressoria were solitary, dark brown, ovoid or irregularly shaped, with diameters from 5.61 to 12.43 μm (n = 50). These morphological characteristics are consistent with the description of a Colletotrichum species (Damm et al. 2009). For molecular identification, the primers ITS4/ITS5, T1/T2, and GDF/GDR were used to amplify the partial region of rDNA-ITS, β-tubulin (TUB2), and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) from fresh mycelia of all eight isolates, respectively. The resulting sequences of ITS, TUB2, and GAPDH were identical with each other, and sequences from strain PCCS-3 were submitted to GenBank. BLASTn revealed that ITS (MN305792), TUB2 (MN307740), and GAPDH (MN307739) shared 99.8, 100, and 98.8% similarity with the published ITS, TUB2, and GAPDH sequences from the ex-epitype culture of Colletotrichum spaethianum CBS 167.49 (Damm et al. 2009), respectively. To prove Koch’s postulates, a pathogenicity test was conducted by spraying 3 ml of conidial suspension of each the eight isolates (105 conidia/ml) on 3-month-old healthy P. cyrtonema seedlings (three seedlings per isolate). As a control, three seedlings were sprayed with 3 ml of distilled water. All inoculated plants were maintained in a moist chamber (relative humidity > 90%) at 26°C, with an 8-h photoperiod under fluorescent light. The disease assays were repeated thrice. Brown spots identical to those observed in the field were noted 7 to 10 days after inoculation, whereas control plants remained symptomless. The same pathogen was reisolated and confirmed as C. spaethianum by sequencing of ITS, GAPDH, and TUB2, fulfilling Koch’s postulates. Presently, C. spaethianum causing leaf spot on Polygonatum odoratum was reported from Jilin Province in China (Liu et al. 2020). To our knowledge, this is the first report of C. spaethianum infecting P. cyrtonema in Anhui Province, China. Our result expanded the geographic location of C. spaethianum as the pathogen on plants belonging to Asparagaceae family in China, and effective control strategies need to be considered to minimize the losses.The author(s) declare no conflict of interest.References:Damm, U., et al. 2009. Fungal Divers. 39:45. ISI, Google ScholarLiu, L., et al. 2020. J. Gen. Plant Pathol. 86:157. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10327-019-00903-4 Crossref, ISI, Google ScholarLiu, Y. J., et al. 2016. Plant Dis. 100:1780. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-12-15-1433-PDN Link, Google ScholarJ. Ma, X. Xiao, and X. Y. Wang contributed equally to this work.The author(s) declare no conflict of interest.Funding: Funding was provided by Foundation for the Excellent Talents of Anhui Agricultural University (RC2015002).DetailsFiguresLiterature CitedRelated Vol. 105, No. 2 February 2021SubscribeISSN:0191-2917e-ISSN:1943-7692 DownloadCaptionDeformation of a bud in blackcurrant after infestation with the mite Cecidophyopsis ribis, Acari: Eriophyidae (Špak et al.). Photo credit: J. Špak. Symptoms of sugar beet rubbery taproot disease (Ćurčić et al.). Photo credit: B. Duduk. Metrics Downloaded 1,172 times Article History Issue Date: 24 Feb 2021Published: 27 Nov 2020First Look: 20 Aug 2020Accepted: 18 Aug 2020 Page: 509 Information© 2021 The American Phytopathological SocietyFundingFoundation for the Excellent Talents of Anhui Agricultural UniversityGrant/Award Number: RC2015002KeywordsanthracnoseColletotrichum spaethianumPolygonatum cyrtonemafungiThe author(s) declare no conflict of interest.PDF downloadCited ByMultiomics Reveals the Effect of Root Rot on Polygonati Rhizome and Identifies Pathogens and Biocontrol StrainMicrobiology Spectrum, Vol. 10, No. 2Genome Resource of Colletotrichum spaethianum, the Causal Agent of Leaf Anthracnose in Polygonatum falcatumYuniar Devi Utami and Kei Hiruma27 April 2022 | PhytoFrontiers™, Vol. 0, No. 0Colletotrichum species and complexes: geographic distribution, host range and conservation status29 September 2021 | Fungal Diversity, Vol. 110, No. 1