ABSTRACT Colletotrichum is one of the most significant and common plant pathogens, infecting many economically important crops worldwide. Colletotrichum is also one of the most studied fungal genera in Malaysia because it contains many species that infect various types of agricultural crop including fruit, vegetable and industrial crops. Studies on Colletotrichum spp. are mostly focused on the causal pathogens, the host range and disease management. Among the host crops, most studies on Colletotrichum spp. have been conducted on infection in chilli (Capsicum spp.), which, in Malaysia, first arose in the 1980s and still continues to be a problem to this day. Studies have also been conducted on Colletotrichum spp. associated with anthracnose in fruit crops including dragon fruit, papaya, banana and mango. Disease management of anthracnose pathogens postharvest has also been conducted to prolong the shelf life of these fruit crops. In this review, Colletotrichum spp. associated with chilli and several fruit crops as well as their disease management are highlighted. There have been many changes in Colletotrichum taxonomy and systematics in recent years, affecting the identification of anthracnose pathogens reported in Malaysia. Colletotrichum species identified solely by morphology or solely via the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region should be referred to as sensu lato (in the broad sense) since many species belong to species complexes. Species within a species complex are closely related, and most are cryptic species particularly species in the C. gloeosporioides and C. acutatum complexes which are commonly associated with agricultural crops in Malaysia. Due to the importance of Colletotrichum spp. as plant pathogens, up-to-date identification methods should be used since accurate species identification of Colletotrichum is crucial for formulating suitable disease management programmes as well as for plant quarantine and biosecurity purposes. This review provides the current knowledge on the status of Colletotrichum spp. associated with agricultural crops in Malaysia and potential control methods on different types of agricultural crops.
Colletotrichum--pathogenicity

Soil bacteria were screened for the ability to control cucumber anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum orbiculare through induced systemic resistance (ISR). Sixty-four bacterial strains having in vitro antifungal activity were used for selecting ISR-inducing strains in cucumber. Cucumber seeds (cv. Baeknokdadagi) were sown in potting mixtures incorporated with the soil bacteria, at a rate of ca. 10(8) cells per gram of the mixture. Two week-old plants were then transplanted into the steam-sterilized soil. Three leaf-stage plants were inoculated with a conidial suspension (5x10(5) conidia/ml) of C. orbiculare. Diseased leaf area (%) and number of lesions per cm2 leaf were evaluated on third leaves of the plants, 5~6 days after inoculation. Among 64 strains tested, nine strains, GC-B19, GC-B35, GK-B18, MM-B22, PK-B14, RC-B41, RC-B64, RC-B65, and RC-B77 significantly (P = 0.05) reduced anthracnose disease compared to the untreated control. In contrast, some bacterial strains promoted susceptibility of cucumber to the disease. From the repeated experiments using the nine bacterial strains, GC-B19, MM-B22, PK-B14, and RC-B65 significantly (P = 0.05) reduced both diseased leaf area (%) and number of lesions per cm2 leaf in at lease one experiment. These strains with control efficacy of 37~80% were determined to be effective ISR-inducing strains.
Bacteria* ; Colletotrichum* ; Soil*

A new phenolic acid ester, 4'-hydroxyphenylethyl 4,8(R)-dihydroxyphenylpropionate(1), was isolated from an endophytic fungus Colletotrichum capsici of Paeonia lactiflora roots, along with eight known phenolic derivatives, tyrosol(2), 2-(4-hydroxyphenyl) ethyl acetate(3), methyl p-hydroxyphenylacetate(4), methyl m-hydroxyphenylacetate(5), 4-(4-hydroxyphene-thoxy)-4-oxobutanoic acid(6), 4-hydroxyphenethyl methyl succinate(7), trichodenol B(8) and 4-hydroxyphenethyl 2-(4-hydroxyphenyl) acetate(9). Their structures were identified by a combination of high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry(HR-ESI-MS), nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR) spectroscopy, ultraviolet(UV) spectroscopy and electronic circular dichroism(ECD) spectroscopy. Compounds 2-9 were isolated from this fungus for the first time.
Colletotrichum ; Esters ; Hydroxybenzoates ; Paeonia

Anthracnose symptoms severely occurred up to 50% on leaves of English ivy growing in greenhouses in Cheongwon area of Korea during disease survey in April, 2000. The symptoms developed as concentric spots with dot-like acervuli on leaves of the plant. A total of 24 isolates of Colletotrichum sp. were obtained from the spotted lesions and identified as Colletotrichum trichellum based on the morphological and cultural characteristics. Leaf spots similar to the original anthracnose symptoms were induced on the host leaves by artificial inoculation with the isolates of the fungus. This is the first record of C. trichellum causing anthracnose of English ivy in Korea.
Colletotrichum* ; Cultural Characteristics ; Fungi ; Hedera* ; Korea* ; Plants

The tulip tree (Liriodendron chinense) has been widely cultivated in Korea as a street or garden tree for its large flowers, which have a superficial resemblance to tulips. Occurrence of anthracnose disease on the leaves of tulip trees growing on the campus of Gyeongsang National University, Jinju, Korea, has been observed. Based on mycological characteristics, pathogenicity, and internal transcribed spacer sequence, the causal fungus was identified as Colletotrichum gloeosporioides. This is the first report on anthracnose disease caused by C. gloeosporioides on tulip trees in Korea.
Colletotrichum ; Flowers ; Fungi ; Korea ; Liriodendron ; Trees ; Tulipa

Anthracnose symptoms severely occurred up to 100% on leaves of May lily grown in four locations in Korea during a disease survey in 2001. The symptoms appeared as circular to irregular spots with brown to dark brown discoloration on leaves of the plant, and severely infected leaves blighted. A total of 35 isolates of Colletotrichum sp. was obtained from the spotted lesions and identified as Colletotrichum liliacearum based on the morphological and cultural characteristics. Leaf spots similar to the original anthracnose symptoms were induced on the host leaves by artificial inoculation with the isolates of the fungus. This is the first report that C. liliacearum causes anthracnose of May lily.
Colletotrichum* ; Cultural Characteristics ; Fungi ; Korea ; Lilium* ; Plants

Rhizome rot disease is one of the main disease of planted Polygonatum kingianum. In this study, six strains of pathogenic fungus was isolated from P. kingianum samples with rhizome rot disease collected from six counties in Yunnan province. Its pathogenicity was confirmed by inoculation to healthy P. kingianum rhizome according to Koch's postulates. The colonies of the isolated fungi on potato dextrose agar(PDA) were orange with abundant crescentic conidia which were eseptate with a mean size of 19. 3-24. 9 μm×5. 2-5. 9 μm and a L/W ratio of 3. 4-4. 5. There was an oil ball in the center of the conidium. It's easy to see setae on PDA colony.The phylogenetic tree based on ITS, GAPDH, CHS-1, HIS3, ACT, and TUB2 sequences by maximum likelihood(ML) method indicated that the pathogenic fungus for P. kingianum rhizome rot disease was clustered into the clade of Colletotrichum spaethianum species complex, and was close to C. spaethianum. However, there were some differences in morphological and genetic characteristics between the pathogenic fungus and C. spaethianum. Therefore, the pathogenic fungus for rhizome rot disease of P. kingianum was identified as a new Colletotrichum species named C. kingianum. The disease spreads primarily due to the plantation of infected seedlings of P. kingianum. It is necessary to choose healthy seedlings and take rigorous disinfection measures for the disease prevention.
China ; Colletotrichum/genetics* ; Phylogeny ; Polygonatum ; Rhizome

Combined with method of ketoconazole resistance screening, a 7alpha,15alpha-diOH-DHEA high-producing mutant Colletotrichum lini ST-1 was obtained by compound mutation of NTG and low energy N+ ion beam implantation. With the substrate concentration of 10 g/L DHEA, the molar yield of 7alpha,15alpha-diOH-DHEA reached 34.2%, increased by 46.2% than that of the original strain. Then we optimized the medium. First, Plackett-Burman design was used to evaluate the effects of medium components on molar yield of the product. Results show that glucose, yeast extract and MgSO4 x 7H2O were the important parameters for the biotransformation process. Subsequently, the path of steepest ascent was used to approach the optimal levels. To obtain the optimal levels, central composite design and response surface analysis were carried out. The optimal medium was as follows (g/L): glucose 26.34, yeast extract 12.15, corn flour 3.00, FeSO4 x 7H2O 0.015, MgSO4 x 7H2O 0.14, KH2PO4 0.90. Under the optimal conditions, the molar yield of 7alpha,15alpha-diOH-DHEA reached 49.3%, which was 44.2% higher than that of using the medium before optimization.
Biotransformation ; Colletotrichum ; metabolism ; Dehydroepiandrosterone ; chemistry ; Fermentation ; Hydroxylation ; Industrial Microbiology ; Mutation

Anthracnose occurred frequently on leaf sheaths of Welsh onions grown in Gangwha island, Korea in November, 2007. The disease incidence was as high as 30% in five fields investigated. A total of 20 single spore isolates of Colletotrichum species were obtained from the affected plants, and all the isolates were identified as Colletotrichum circinans based on their morphological and cultural characteristics. Three isolates of the fungus caused anthracnose symptoms on the leaf sheaths of Welsh onions by artificial inoculation, which were similar to those observed during the field survey. In this study, the mycological and pathological characteristics of C. circinans identified as causing anthracnose of Welsh onions are clarified.
Colletotrichum ; Cultural Characteristics ; Fungi ; Incidence ; Korea ; Onions ; Spores

The ability of Bacillus subtilis, strain ALICA to produce three mycolytic enzymes (chitinase, β-1,3-glucanase, and protease), was carried out by the chemical standard methods. Bacillus subtilis ALICA was screened based on their antifungal activity in dual plate assay and cell-free culture filtrate (25%) against five different phytopathogenic fungi Alternaria alternata, Macrophomina sp., Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, Botrytis cinerea, and Sclerotium rolfesii. The B. subtilis ALICA detected positive for chitinase, β-1,3-glucanase and protease enzymes. Fungal growth inhibition by both strain ALICA and its cell-free culture filtrate ranged from 51.36% to 86.3% and 38.43% to 68.6%, respectively. Moreover, hyphal morphological changes like damage, broken, swelling, distortions abnormal morphology were observed. Genes expression of protease, β-1,3-glucanase, and lipopeptides (subtilosin and subtilisin) were confirmed their presence in the supernatant of strain ALICA. Our findings indicated that strain ALICA provided a broad spectrum of antifungal activities against various phytopathogenic fungi and may be a potential effective alternative to chemical fungicides.
Alternaria ; Bacillus subtilis* ; Bacillus* ; Botrytis ; Chitinase ; Colletotrichum ; Fungi* ; Lipopeptides ; Prosopis*