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Monitoring, Detection and Surveillance of Fungal Plant Pathogens
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Monitoring, Detection and Surveillance of Fungal Plant Pathogens

A special issue of Journal of Fungi (ISSN 2309-608X). This special issue belongs to the section "Fungi in Agriculture and Biotechnology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2023) | Viewed by 6629

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Davide Spadaro

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences (DISAFA) and AGROINNOVA (Centre of Competence for the Innovation in the Agro-Environmental Sector), University of Turin, 10124 Turin, Italy
Interests: plant pathology; crop protection; molecular diagnostics; biological control; postharvest; mycotoxins
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Monica Mezzalama

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences (DISAFA) and AGROINNOVA (Centre of Competence for the Innovation in the Agro-Environmental Sector), University of Turin, 10124 Turin, Italy
Interests: plant pathogens; crop protection; molecular diagnostics; seedborne pathogens; cereals; validation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Increasing globalization and climatic change favor plant disease outbreaks caused by fungal pathogens. This makes it necessary to promptly detect and prevent emerging and recurrent pathogens, which could be foliar, soilborne, seedborne, or associated with plant propagative material or fruit in postharvest. A difficulty is posed by the fact that an increasing number of disease outbreaks are caused by previously unknown fungal pathogens identified only after causing severe damage. Reliable diagnostic methods are needed to identify hazards to plant health so that appropriate plant protection strategies can be applied. Traditional detection methods are frequently laborious, time-consuming, and require extensive knowledge of classical taxonomy. Molecular techniques are faster, more specific, sensitive, and accurate. Molecular techniques, including qPCR and digital PCR, are developed, optimized, and validated for fungal pathogen detection and identification. High-throughput sequencing (HTS) technologies, particularly metabarcoding, could be useful for surveillance of soilborne, seedborne, and airborne pathogens, as well as for identifying new pathogens and determining the origin of outbreaks. Field techniques, such as LAMP and portable platforms, are promising tools for early and quick pathogen detection. The choice of diagnostic technique depends on the balance between reliability and cost. This underscores the need for the development of new techniques for detection, monitoring, and surveillance of fungal pathogens. This Special Issue of the Journal of Fungi will present an update on the most innovative and advanced techniques for “Monitoring, Detection and Surveillance of Fungal Plant Pathogens”.

Prof. Dr. Davide Spadaro
Dr. Monica Mezzalama
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Fungi is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • detection
  • diagnostics
  • monitoring
  • surveillance
  • plant pathogen
  • qPCR
  • digital PCR
  • metabarcoding
  • LAMP
  • impact

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 5321 KiB  
Article
Grapevine Trunk Diseases in Greece: Disease Incidence and Fungi Involved in Discrete Geographical Zones and Varieties
by Stefanos I. Testempasis, Emmanouil A. Markakis, Georgia I. Tavlaki, Stefanos K. Soultatos, Christos Tsoukas, Danai Gkizi, Aliki K. Tzima, Epameinondas Paplomatas and Georgios S. Karaoglanidis
J. Fungi 2024, 10(1), 2; https://doi.org/10.3390/jof10010002 - 20 Dec 2023
Viewed by 1602
Abstract
A three-year survey was conducted to estimate the incidence of grapevine trunk diseases (GTDs) in Greece and identify fungi associated with the disease complex. In total, 310 vineyards in different geographical regions in northern, central, and southern Greece were surveyed, and 533 fungal [...] Read more.
A three-year survey was conducted to estimate the incidence of grapevine trunk diseases (GTDs) in Greece and identify fungi associated with the disease complex. In total, 310 vineyards in different geographical regions in northern, central, and southern Greece were surveyed, and 533 fungal strains were isolated from diseased vines. Morphological, physiological and molecular (5.8S rRNA gene-ITS sequencing) analyses revealed that isolates belonged to 35 distinct fungal genera, including well-known (e.g., Botryosphaeria sp., Diaporthe spp., Eutypa sp., Diplodia sp., Fomitiporia sp., Phaeoacremonium spp., Phaeomoniella sp.) and lesser-known (e.g., Neosetophoma sp., Seimatosporium sp., Didymosphaeria sp., Kalmusia sp.) grapevine wood inhabitants. The GTDs-inducing population structure differed significantly among the discrete geographical zones. Phaeomoniella chlamydospora (26.62%, n = 70), Diaporthe spp. (18.25%, n = 48) and F. mediterranea (10.27%, n = 27) were the most prevalent in Heraklion, whereas D. seriata, Alternaria spp., P. chlamydospora and Fusarium spp. were predominant in Nemea (central Greece). In Amyntaio and Kavala (northern Greece), D. seriata was the most frequently isolated species (>50% frequency). Multi-genes (rDNA-ITS, LSU, tef1-α, tub2, act) sequencing of selected isolates, followed by pathogenicity tests, revealed that Neosetophoma italica, Seimatosporium vitis, Didymosphaeria variabile and Kalmusia variispora caused wood infection, with the former being the most virulent. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of N. italica associated with GTDs worldwide. This is also the first record of K. variispora, S. vitis and D. variabile associated with wood infection of grapevine in Greece. The potential associations of disease indices with vine age, cultivar, GTD-associated population structure and the prevailing meteorological conditions in different viticultural zones in Greece are presented and discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Monitoring, Detection and Surveillance of Fungal Plant Pathogens)
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17 pages, 4410 KiB  
Article
Detection Method of Fungal Spores Based on Fingerprint Characteristics of Diffraction–Polarization Images
by Yafei Wang, Xiaodong Zhang, Mohamed Farag Taha, Tianhua Chen, Ning Yang, Jiarui Zhang and Hanping Mao
J. Fungi 2023, 9(12), 1131; https://doi.org/10.3390/jof9121131 - 24 Nov 2023
Viewed by 1152
Abstract
The most significant aspect of promoting greenhouse productivity is the timely monitoring of disease spores and applying proactive control measures. This paper introduces a method to classify spores of airborne disease in greenhouse crops by using fingerprint characteristics of diffraction–polarized images and machine [...] Read more.
The most significant aspect of promoting greenhouse productivity is the timely monitoring of disease spores and applying proactive control measures. This paper introduces a method to classify spores of airborne disease in greenhouse crops by using fingerprint characteristics of diffraction–polarized images and machine learning. Initially, a diffraction–polarization imaging system was established, and the diffraction fingerprint images of disease spores were taken in polarization directions of 0°, 45°, 90° and 135°. Subsequently, the diffraction–polarization images were processed, wherein the fingerprint features of the spore diffraction–polarization images were extracted. Finally, a support vector machine (SVM) classification algorithm was used to classify the disease spores. The study’s results indicate that the diffraction–polarization imaging system can capture images of disease spores. Different spores all have their own unique diffraction–polarization fingerprint characteristics. The identification rates of tomato gray mold spores, cucumber downy mold spores and cucumber powdery mildew spores were 96.02%, 94.94% and 96.57%, respectively. The average identification rate of spores was 95.85%. This study can provide a research basis for the identification and classification of disease spores. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Monitoring, Detection and Surveillance of Fungal Plant Pathogens)
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11 pages, 1342 KiB  
Article
Molecular Characterization and Pathogenicity of Alternaria spp. Associated with Black Rot of Sweet Cherries in Italy
by Muhammad Waqas, Simona Prencipe, Vladimiro Guarnaccia and Davide Spadaro
J. Fungi 2023, 9(10), 992; https://doi.org/10.3390/jof9100992 - 07 Oct 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1103
Abstract
Black rot is limiting the production of sweet cherries in Italy. Dark brown to black patches and sunken lesions on fruits are the most common symptoms of Alternaria black rot on sweet cherry fruits. We isolated 180 Alternaria spp. from symptomatic cherry fruits [...] Read more.
Black rot is limiting the production of sweet cherries in Italy. Dark brown to black patches and sunken lesions on fruits are the most common symptoms of Alternaria black rot on sweet cherry fruits. We isolated 180 Alternaria spp. from symptomatic cherry fruits ‘Kordia’, ‘Ferrovia’, and ‘Regina’ harvested in Northern Italy, over three years, from 2020 to 2022. The aim was to identify and characterize a selection of forty isolates of Alternaria spp. based on morphology, pathogenicity, and combined analysis of rpb2, Alt-a1, endoPG and OPA10-2. The colonies were dark greyish in the center with white margins. Ellipsoidal or ovoid shaped conidia ranging from 19.8 to 21.7 μm in length were observed under a microscope. Based on the concatenated session of four gene regions, thirty-three out of forty isolates were identified as A. arborescens species complex (AASC), and seven as A. alternata. Pathogenicity was evaluated on healthy ‘Regina’ sweet cherry fruits. All the tested strains were pathogenic on their host. This study represents the first characterization of Alternaria spp. associated with black rot of cherries in Italy and, to the best of our knowledge, it is also the first report of AASC as an agent of black rot of sweet cherries in Italy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Monitoring, Detection and Surveillance of Fungal Plant Pathogens)
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14 pages, 3201 KiB  
Article
Host Range and Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification Detection of Globisporangium sylvaticum from Guizhou, China
by Jing Zhang, Xiaonan Sun, Ningjing Ao, Huayan Zou, Huijuan Shao, Koji Kageyama and Wenzhuo Feng
J. Fungi 2023, 9(7), 752; https://doi.org/10.3390/jof9070752 - 15 Jul 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 917
Abstract
Globisporangium, especially G. sylvaticum, causes devastating root rot, blight, and other diseases in various species of cash crops. To investigate the distribution and host range of G. sylvaticum in Guizhou, a suitable habitat for this pathogen, we collected 156 root-diseased samples, [...] Read more.
Globisporangium, especially G. sylvaticum, causes devastating root rot, blight, and other diseases in various species of cash crops. To investigate the distribution and host range of G. sylvaticum in Guizhou, a suitable habitat for this pathogen, we collected 156 root-diseased samples, isolated the pathogens, and found that G. sylvaticum is widespread and has eleven host plants, including four novel hosts. Furthermore, to effectively identify G. sylvaticum, we developed a simple and dependable method based on loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), which used a primer set designed from the internal transcribed spacer sequences with high specificity and sensitivity of 1 pg/μL. Additionally, to perform field identification, we used the “Plant-LAMP” method with crude DNA extraction to detect the pathogen in 45 root samples from nine species of plants. Our results showed that this method could effectively detect G. sylvaticum in diseased roots. Therefore, our findings not only enrich existing research on the diversity of pathogenic Globisporangium in Guizhou but also present an efficient LAMP field detection method that could significantly contribute to plant disease management and prevention. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Monitoring, Detection and Surveillance of Fungal Plant Pathogens)
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14 pages, 5572 KiB  
Article
Fluorescent Labeling of Peroxisome and Nuclear in Colletotrichum aenigma
by Shendan Yu, Jing Wang, Rongyao Chai, Haiping Qiu, Ziqi Lu, Zhen Zhang, Lin Li, Jiaoyu Wang and Guochang Sun
J. Fungi 2023, 9(4), 493; https://doi.org/10.3390/jof9040493 - 21 Apr 2023
Viewed by 1254
Abstract
Anthracnose is one of the most widespread and destructive diseases in grapes. Grape anthracnose can be caused by various Colletotrichum species, such as Colletotrichum gloeosporioides and Colletotrichum cuspidosporium. In recent years, Colletotrichum aenigma was reported as a causal agent of Grape anthracnose [...] Read more.
Anthracnose is one of the most widespread and destructive diseases in grapes. Grape anthracnose can be caused by various Colletotrichum species, such as Colletotrichum gloeosporioides and Colletotrichum cuspidosporium. In recent years, Colletotrichum aenigma was reported as a causal agent of Grape anthracnose in China and South Korea. Peroxisome is an important organelle in eukaryotes, which plays a very important role in the growth, development, and pathogenicity of several plant-pathogenic fungal species i, but it has not been reported in C. aenigma. In this work, the peroxisome of C. aenigma was labeled with a fluorescent protein, using green fluorescent protein (GFP) and red fluorescent protein (DsRED and mCherry) as reporter genes. Via Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation (AtMT), two fluorescent fusion vectors to mark the peroxisomes, with GFP and DsRED, respectively, were introduced into a wild-type strain of C. aenigma. In the transformants, bright dots of green or red fluorescence in hyphae and spores could be seen in the strains labeled peroxisome. The nuclei labeled by the same method showed bright round fluorescent spots. In addition, we also combined fluorescent protein labeling with chemical staining to show the localization more clearly. The ideal peroxisome and nuclear fluorescence-labeled C. aenigma strain was obtained, which provided a reference for the study of its growth, development, and pathogenicity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Monitoring, Detection and Surveillance of Fungal Plant Pathogens)
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