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Identification and characterization of Pestalotiopsis spp. causing twig blight disease of bayberry (Myrica rubra Sieb. & Zucc) in China

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Abstract

Bayberry (Myrica rubra) is a fruit tree native to the subtropical regions of China. It produces fruit with a unique taste and pharmacological characteristics, thus making it a widely cultivated tree commercially in many regions of China, including Zhejiang, Fujian, Guizhou, Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces. Recently, a twig blight disease occurred on the fruit tree and caused destructive damage of plantings in the Zhejiang Province. However, the etiology of the disease was unclear. This study was carried out to identify the causal agent(s) of the blight disease on bayberry. Fungal isolates were obtained from blighted twig samples collected from bayberry fields in Xianju, Rui’an, and Huangyan of Zhejiang Province. The majority (87.9 %) of the 257 fungal isolates were identified as Pestalotiopsis spp. based on their conidial morphology. DNA sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the ribosomal RNA gene and the β-tubulin gene were obtained from six representative strains (XJ27, XJ42, RA2-1, YS26, YS44 and RA1-2) of the Pestalotiopsis spp. Phylogenetic analysis showed that three of the strains (XJ27, XJ42, and RA2-1) grouped with P. versicolor (Speg.) Steyaert while the other three strains (YS26, YS44 and RA1-2) grouped with P. microspora (Speg.) Batista & Peres. Pathogenicity tests in the greenhouse showed that all these six isolates of Pestalotiopsis spp. caused twig blight disease symptoms on bayberry plants, which were the same as observed in naturally infected plants in the field. Our results clearly indicated that P. versicolor and P. microspora were the major pathogens causing the twig blight disease on bayberry in southern China.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Erik Heitkamp for proof-reading the manuscript. The research was supported by the Prior Project Fund for Agriculture of Zhejiang Province (2012C12009-5; 2009C12058), Funding for Public Service Sectors of Agricultural Special Projects (201203089), International Cooperation Project of Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences and Project 30970022 supported by NSFC.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Plant Protection and Microbe, Institute of Horticulture Sciences, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, 310021, China

    Hai-Ying Ren, Li Fang & Han-Rong Wang

  2. State Key Lab Breeding Base for Zhejiang Sustainable Plant Pest Control; MOA Key Lab for Pesticide Residue Detection; Institute of Quality and Standard for Agro-products, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, 310021, China

    Gang Li

  3. Institute of Horticulture Sciences, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, 310021, China

    Xing-Jiang Qi

  4. College of Agriculture, Guangxi University, Nanning, 530005, China

    Ji-Guang Wei

  5. Department of Plant Pathology, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, 58108, USA

    Shaobin Zhong

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  1. Hai-Ying Ren
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  2. Gang Li
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  3. Xing-Jiang Qi
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  4. Li Fang
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Correspondence to Han-Rong Wang, Ji-Guang Wei or Shaobin Zhong.

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Hai-Ying Ren and Gang Li contributed equally to the work.

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Ren, HY., Li, G., Qi, XJ. et al. Identification and characterization of Pestalotiopsis spp. causing twig blight disease of bayberry (Myrica rubra Sieb. & Zucc) in China. Eur J Plant Pathol 137, 451–461 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10658-013-0255-y

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