Identification and Characterization of Colletotrichum Species Associated With Camellia sinensis Anthracnose in Anhui Province, China

Recent advances in Colletotrichum taxonomy have led to the need to conduct fresh surveys of Colletotrichum species associated with important crops. Anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum spp. is one of the destructive diseases on Camellia sinensis. In this study, a total of 22 representative Colletotrichum isolates were obtained from diseased leaves of Ca. sinensis cultivated in four tea plantation regions in Anhui Province of China. The isolates were identified based on multilocus (ITS, ACT, CAL, CHS-1, TUB2, GAPDH) phylogenetic analyses, and their morphological characteristics were also analyzed. Twenty-one isolates belonging to C. gloeosporioides complex were identified as C. camelliae, C. fructicola, and C. siamense. One isolate belonging to C. boninense complex was identified as C. karstii. Pathogenicity tests revealed that the isolates of C. camelliae and C. fructicola were highly virulent when inoculated on the leaves of detached twigs of Ca. sinensis cv. Shuchazao. Furthermore, it was found that the interspecies virulence was less distinct and individual isolates showed varied virulence when inoculated on different varieties of Ca. sinensis. To our knowledge, this is the first report of C. fructicola, C. siamense, and C. karstii causing anthracnose on Ca. sinensis in Anhui Province, China.