Georgia Blueberry Neopestalotiopsis Isolates, Which Are Phylogenetically Indistinguishable From the Emerging Novel Strawberry Neopestalotiopsis sp., Are Pathogenic to Both Blueberry and Strawberry

A novel Neopestalotiopsis sp. causing an emerging crown, leaf, and fruit disease on strawberry has been associated with significant losses in recent years in the Eastern United States and Canada. Particularly aggressive on strawberry relative to other Neopestalotiopsis spp., isolates of this novel species are morphologically similar to the relatively less aggressive species Neopestalotiopsis rosae and have been genetically differentiated from N. rosae based on multilocus sequence analysis as well as restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) within the fungal beta-tubulin gene. Here, from blueberry fruit collected from commercial blueberry production sites in southern Georgia (U.S.A.), we report the isolation, identification, and characterization of Neopestalotiopsis isolates, which are phylogenetically indistinguishable from the novel Neopestalotiopsis sp. from strawberry. Isolates collected from blueberry across multiple growing seasons were identified as belonging to the novel Neopestalotiopsis sp. based on RFLP and multilocus sequence analysis. Moreover, these isolates were found to be capable of causing disease on both blueberry and strawberry plants in greenhouse experiments. These findings expand our understanding of this novel Neopestalotiopsis sp. and have implications for the diagnosis and management of Neopestalotiopsis diseases on small fruit crops.