Endophytic fungi from plums (Prunus domestica) and their antifungal activity against Monilinia fructicola

• Published in: Journal of food protection Vol. 75; no. 10; pp. 1883 - 1889
• Main Authors: Pimenta, Raphael Sanzio, Silva, Juliana F. Moreira da, Buyer, Jeffrey S, Janisiewicz, Wojciech J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Des Moines, IA International Association for Food Protection 01.10.2012; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: acetates; Acetic acid; anthracnose; Antibiosis; antifungal agents; antifungal properties; Ascomycota - growth & development; Biological and medical sciences; Biological control; blight; Colletotrichum - growth & development; Colletotrichum gloeosporioides; Consumer Product Safety; cultivars; disease control; Endophytes; Endophytes - physiology; Flowers & plants; Food Contamination - analysis; Food Contamination - prevention & control; Food industries; Food microbiology; Food Preservation - methods; Food safety; Fruit - microbiology; Fruit and vegetable industries; Fruit crops; Fruit trees; Fruits; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; fungal anatomy; fungal antagonists; Fungi; Glomerella cingulata; Harvest; Humans; Leaves; Leptosphaeria nodorum; Microorganisms; molecular systematics; Monilinia fructicola; Pathogens; Pest Control, Biological - methods; Phaeosphaeria nodorum; Phylogenetics; Plant diseases; plant pathogenic fungi; plums; Prunus; Prunus - microbiology; Prunus domestica; Studies; Trees; volatile compounds; Ascomycota; Fungi; Antifungal agent; Plum; Fruit; Prunus domestica; Dicotyledones; Angiospermae; Rosaceae; Spermatophyta; Monilinia fructicola
• ISSN: 1944-9097; 0362-028X; 1944-9097
• DOI: 10.4315/0362-028X.JFP-12-156

Enophytic fungi were isolated from plum (Prunus domestica) leaves, identified with ITS1 and ITS4 primers, and their antagonistic activity was tested against Monilinia fructicola, which causes brown rot, blossom blight, and twig blight of stone fruits, and Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, which causes anthracnose on a variety of fruit crops. The production of antifungal compounds was determined in agar-diffusion and volatile inverted-plate tests. A total of 163 fungi were recovered from 30 plum trees, representing 22 cultivars. Twenty-nine morphotypes were detected, but only 14 species were identified genetically. The most frequently isolated species was Phaeosphaeria nodorum, constituting 86.5% of the total isolates. Four isolates produced inhibitory volatiles to M. fructicola; however, no isolate produced volatiles inhibitory to C. gloeosporioides. The volatiles produced by these fungi were identified as ethyl acetate, 3-methyl-1-butanol, acetic acid, 2-propyn-1-ol, and 2-propenenitrile. The fungal volatiles inhibited growth and reduced width of the hyphae, and caused disintegration of the hyphal content. This is the first study describing fungal endophytes in stone fruits. The P. nodorum strains producing inhibitory volatiles could play a significant role in reduction of M. fructicola expansion in plum tissues. Potential of these strains for biological control of this pathogen on stone fruits warrants further investigation.