TY - JOUR
T1 - Characterization of fungal species involved in white haze disorder on apples in Northern Italy and description of Golubevia mali sp. nov. and Entyloma mali sp. nov.
AU - Guarnaccia, Vladimiro
AU - Remolif, Giulia M.E.
AU - Nari, Luca
AU - Gualandri, Valeria
AU - Angeli, Dario
AU - Oettl, Sabine
AU - Dijksterhuis, Jan
AU - Boekhout, Teun
AU - Spadaro, Davide
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Authors
PY - 2024/3
Y1 - 2024/3
N2 - White haze, caused by an extensive fungal colonization of the apple surface, is an emerging postharvest issue in several European apple production areas. It results in compromised quality and decreased marketability of the fruits, leading to economic losses. In this study, the occurrence and the diversity of white haze-related fungi associated with apples was investigated in Northern Italy. Fungal strains were isolated from apple tissues and the species diversity was assessed using molecular and phylogenetic tools. Moreover, the ability of the isolated species to reproduce symptoms on healthy apples artificially inoculated was tested. Seventy-two fungal isolates were collected. Six species belonging to different basidiomycetous genera (Entyloma, Golubevia, Tilletiopsis) were identified, showing high diversity of fungi involved in white haze development in Northern Italy. The strains were identified as E. belangeri, E. randwijkense, G. pallescens, T. washingtonensis. Moreover, two new species, E. mali sp. nov. and G. mali sp. nov. were described. The most frequently isolated strains were inoculated on healthy apple fruit, showing to be able to reproduce symptoms on red-skin apples, fulfilling Koch's postulates. This work provides new insights to increase knowledge about the causal agents of white haze on apple. In addition, the names Golubevia, Golubeviaceae and Golubeviales have been nomenclaturally validated.
AB - White haze, caused by an extensive fungal colonization of the apple surface, is an emerging postharvest issue in several European apple production areas. It results in compromised quality and decreased marketability of the fruits, leading to economic losses. In this study, the occurrence and the diversity of white haze-related fungi associated with apples was investigated in Northern Italy. Fungal strains were isolated from apple tissues and the species diversity was assessed using molecular and phylogenetic tools. Moreover, the ability of the isolated species to reproduce symptoms on healthy apples artificially inoculated was tested. Seventy-two fungal isolates were collected. Six species belonging to different basidiomycetous genera (Entyloma, Golubevia, Tilletiopsis) were identified, showing high diversity of fungi involved in white haze development in Northern Italy. The strains were identified as E. belangeri, E. randwijkense, G. pallescens, T. washingtonensis. Moreover, two new species, E. mali sp. nov. and G. mali sp. nov. were described. The most frequently isolated strains were inoculated on healthy apple fruit, showing to be able to reproduce symptoms on red-skin apples, fulfilling Koch's postulates. This work provides new insights to increase knowledge about the causal agents of white haze on apple. In addition, the names Golubevia, Golubeviaceae and Golubeviales have been nomenclaturally validated.
KW - Apple fruit
KW - Basidiomycota
KW - Biodiversity
KW - Disorder
KW - Fungi
KW - Postharvest
KW - Taxonomy
KW - Ustilagino mycotina
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85178106122&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.postharvbio.2023.112678
DO - 10.1016/j.postharvbio.2023.112678
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85178106122
SN - 0925-5214
VL - 209
JO - Postharvest Biology and Technology
JF - Postharvest Biology and Technology
M1 - 112678
ER -