First Report of Alternaria tenuissima Causing Brown Spot Disease of Kiwifruit Foliage in China

HomePlant DiseaseVol. 103, No. 3First Report of Alternaria tenuissima Causing Brown Spot Disease of Kiwifruit Foliage in China PreviousNext DISEASE NOTES OPENOpen Access licenseFirst Report of Alternaria tenuissima Causing Brown Spot Disease of Kiwifruit Foliage in ChinaL. Li, H. Pan, L. Deng, Z. P. Wang, D. W. Li, Q. Zhang, M. Y. Chen, and C. H. ZhongL. Li†Corresponding authors: L. Li; E-mail: E-mail Address: [email protected] and C. H. Zhong; E-mail: E-mail Address: [email protected]http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4717-1996, H. Pan, L. Deng, Z. P. Wang, D. W. Li, Q. Zhang, M. Y. Chen, and C. H. Zhong†Corresponding authors: L. Li; E-mail: E-mail Address: [email protected] and C. H. Zhong; E-mail: E-mail Address: [email protected]AffiliationsAuthors and Affiliations L. Li † H. Pan L. Deng Z. P. Wang D. W. Li Q. Zhang M. Y. Chen C. H. Zhong † , Key Laboratory of Plant Germplasm Enhancement and Specialty Agriculture, Wuhan Botanical Garden, The Innovative Academy of Seed Design, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074, China. Published Online:7 Jan 2019https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-07-18-1217-PDNAboutSectionsSupplemental ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmailWechat China is the world's leading kiwifruit (Actinidia spp.) producer (Belrose 2016). During July to October of 2017, brown spot disease was observed on the foliage in several kiwifruit orchards on A. chinensis 'Hongyang' in Liupanshui County, Guizhou Province, Zhejiang Province, and Taishun and Shangyu Counties. Disease incidence averaged 25% in these regions. Early symptoms consisted of small, circular to oval, light brown to dark brown, necrotic lesions with a diameter ranging from <1 up to 8 mm. The spots gradually became round or irregular, uniformly distributed on leaves. Tissues adjacent to the leaf spots remained green. To isolate the causal agent, infected leaf tissues (5 × 5 mm) cut from the margins of lesions were surface disinfected in 70% ethyl alcohol, rinsed in sterile distilled water, and plated on potato dextrose agar. Four isolates of the fungus were recovered. Colonies were at first cottony and white with loose aerial hyphae turning to olive-green to brown (purple navy to black olive). Conidia were multiseptate, brown or dark brown, obclavate or obpyriform. Conidia ranged from 18.0 to 70.3 μm long (mean 28.3 μm) and 5.5 to 27.5 μm wide (mean 6.75 μm) (n = 50) with one to eight transverse and rarely zero to four longitudinal or zero to three oblique septa. The described morphological characteristics were similar to those reported for the fungus Alternaria tenuissima (Nees). Confirmation of the species identification was obtained by molecular characterization of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of rDNA and the histone gene. DNA extracted from the four isolates was amplified with universal primers ITS4/ ITS5 and H3-1a/H3-1b (Glass et al. 1995). Subjected to BLAST analysis, these sequence (MH594733 to MH594736, MH622761 to MH622764) were 100% identical to published ITS rDNA sequences and histone 3 gene of A. tenuissima, respectively (KF951149 and AF404622). Based on morphological characteristics and DNA sequence data, the four isolates were identified as A. tenuissima. All isolates were tested for pathogenicity on leaves of surface-disinfected A. chinensis 'Hongyang'. A sterile insect pin (no. 2) was used to make 2- to 3-mm-deep wounds in the left and right areas of 10 leaves. On five leaves, wounds on the left received a 5-mm-diameter agar disc of an actively growing A. tenuissima culture; wounds on the right received sterile agar discs to serve as a control. The other five wounded leaves were inoculated on the left with a 10-μl spore suspension (1 × 106 conidia/ml), whereas the right side received sterile water. Leaves were incubated at 25°C and 95% relative humidity with a 12-h photoperiod per day. Typical leaf spot symptoms caused by A. tenuissima developed on the left side of leaves inoculated with the fungus 7 days after inoculation, and the fungus was consistently reisolated from these leaves, fulfilling Koch's postulates. The right side of leaves (negative control) remained asymptomatic, and the pathogen was not reisolated. Pathogenicity tests were carried out twice, with the same results, indicating that A. tenuissima is responsible for brown spot disease on kiwifruit in China. A. tenuissima is a known pathogen of several other hosts such as apple and pigeon pea (Kou et al. 2014; Sharma et al. 2012), but this is the first report of brown spot disease on kiwifruit foliage in China. The economic importance of the kiwifruit industry in China warrants further study of brown spot disease caused by A. tenuissima.References:Belrose. 2016. Page 14 in: World Kiwifruit Review. Belrose, Pullman, WA. Google ScholarGlass, N. L., et al. 1995. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 61:1323. Crossref, ISI, Google ScholarKou, L. P., et al. 2014. Plant Dis. 98:690. Abstract, Google ScholarSharma, M., et al. 2012. Plant Dis. 96:907. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-01-12-0060-PDN Link, ISI, Google ScholarFunding: This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant nos. 31701974 and 31572092), the Technological Innovation Project of Hubei Province (Key Program) (grant no. 2016ABA109), the Natural Science Foundation of Hubei Province (grant no. 2017CFB443) and the funding of Wuhan Science and Technology Bureau (grant no. 2018020401011307).DetailsFiguresLiterature CitedRelated Vol. 103, No. 3 March 2019SubscribeISSN:0191-2917e-ISSN:1943-7692 Metrics Article History Issue Date: 6 Mar 2019Published: 7 Jan 2019First Look: 26 Sep 2018Accepted: 24 Sep 2018 Pages: 582-582 Information© 2019 The American Phytopathological SocietyFundingNational Natural Science Foundation of ChinaGrant/Award Number: 31572092Technological Innovation Project of Hubei Province (Key Program)Grant/Award Number: 2016ABA109Natural Science Foundation of Hubei ProvinceGrant/Award Number: 2017CFB443Wuhan Science and Technology BureauGrant/Award Number: 2018020401011307Cited byEco-Friendly Biocontrol Strategies of Alternaria Phytopathogen Fungus: A Focus on Gene-Editing Techniques19 October 2022 | Agriculture, Vol. 12, No. 10Characterization and Pathogenicity of Pythium-Like Species Associated with Root and Collar Rot of Kiwifruit in TurkeyMuharrem Türkkan, Göksel Özer, Gürsel Karaca, İsmail Erper, and Sibel Derviş6 March 2022 | Plant Disease, Vol. 106, No. 3Isobenzofuranones and isocoumarins from kiwi endophytic fungus Paraphaeosphaeria sporulosa and their antibacterial activity against Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiaePhytochemistry, Vol. 195Alternaria spp. Associated with Leaf Blight of Maize in Heilongjiang Province, ChinaXi Xu, Li Zhang, Xilang Yang, Hanshui Cao, Jingjing Li, Peng Cao, Lifeng Guo, Xiangjing Wang, Junwei Zhao, and Wensheng Xiang9 February 2022 | Plant Disease, Vol. 106, No. 2Alternaria tenuissima (nailhead spot of tomato)CABI Compendium, Vol. CABI CompendiumBioactivity and Control Efficacy of the Novel Antibiotic Tetramycin against Various Kiwifruit Diseases10 March 2021 | Antibiotics, Vol. 10, No. 3First Report of Alternaria tenuissima Causing Leaf Spot on Star Anise (Illicium verum) in ChinaJie-Ling Lai, Xiao-Lin Chen, Jia-Hui Feng, Cai-Nuo Huang, and Yong-Jian Bei11 November 2020 | Plant Disease, Vol. 105, No. 1First Report of Fusarium fujikuroi Causing Brown Leaf Spot on KiwifruitHuanhuan Li, Wei Tang, Kui Liu, Lin Zhang, Xiaofeng Tang, Min Miao, and Yongsheng Liu23 February 2020 | Plant Disease, Vol. 104, No. 5Alternaria tenuissima Causing Leaf Necrosis on Polygonatum cyrtonema in Jinzhai, ChinaDelong Li and Min Guo9 January 2020 | Plant Disease, Vol. 104, No. 3Alternaria tenuissima Causing Fruit Scab Disease on Actinidia chinensis in Anhui Province, ChinaJi Ma, Hongxia Li, Xingyu Wang, and Min Guo9 December 2019 | Plant Disease, Vol. 104, No. 2