The Third Report of Colletotrichum japonicum Worldwide Acta Mycologica Article ID: 565 DOI: 10.5586/am.565 Publication History Received: 2020-04-30 Accepted: 2021-02-01 Published: 2021-05-20 Handling Editor Małgorzata Ruszkiewicz-Michalska; Institute for Agricultural and Forest Environment, Polish Academy of Sciences; University of Łódź, Poland; https://orcid.org/0000- 0001-8901-0552 Funding The study was supported by the Department of Botany, Mycology and Ecology, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin through its statutory funds. Competing Interests No competing interests have been declared. Copyright Notice © The Author(s) 2021. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits redistribution, commercial and noncommercial, provided that the article is properly cited. SHORT COMMUNICATION in PLANT PATHOLOGY The Third Report of Colletotrichum japonicum Worldwide Urszula Świderska-Burek * Department of Botany, Mycology and Ecology, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, Poland * To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: urszula.swiderska-burek@poczta.umcs.lublin.pl Abstract is paper reports the first finding of Colletotrichum japonicum (Hemmi) Bedlan on Berberis aquifolium Pursh [= Mahonia aquifolium (Pursh) Nutt.] in Poland. e fungus was collected in the Botanical Garden of Maria Curie-Skłodowska University (UMCS) in Lublin. is is the second locality of the species in Europe and the third worldwide. In this paper, morphological characteristics, microphotographs, and distribution comments are provided. Keywords anthracnose; coelomycetous anamorphs; distribution; microfungi; Oregon grape 1. Introduction Colletotrichum is traditionally recognized as an asexual genus of fungi, with a number of species linked to sexual morphs assigned to the Glomerella genus (Sordariomycetes, Glomerellaceae, Ascomycota). Over the years, Colletotrichum species were considered to be host specific, which led to the description of a large number of taxa (Cannon et al., 2012; Sharma & Shenoy, 2016). Species from this genus are economically one of the most important fungi, and cause anthracnose and other diseases in a wide range of plant species (Cai et al., 2009; Hyde et al., 2009; Sutton, 1980). e comprehensive monographic study conducted by von Arx (1957) based on morphological characteristics with little emphasis placed on pathological features led to drastic reduction from approximately 750 to 11 species. Molecular studies of Colletotrichum species, which have become an integrated element in taxonomic research, have been developing intensively since the end of the twentieth century. e first applications of DNA sequence data to distinguish between species within this genus used the internal transcribed spacer (ITS1) region of nrDNA. Later, multilocus analyses became a common approach based on the use of ITS2 and large ribosomal subunit (LSU) as well as partial sequences of genes encoding, e.g., histone H3 (HIS), translation elongation factor 1 alpha (TEF-1α), tubulin beta chain (TUB), and actin (ACT) (Cannon et al., 2012). Scientists working on Colletotrichum do not agree on the taxonomic approach and characters that should be employed to identify and describe a new Colletotrichum species. Hence, a reliable secondary barcode marker is indispensable for the accurate identification of Colletotrichum species (Sharma & Shenoy, 2016). Identification of Colletotrichum species based on morphology has always been problematic; therefore, the current progress in molecular phylogenetic methods facilitates identification of stable and well-separated clades within Colletotrichum. However, the taxonomy of this genus is still unsatisfactory and there is a need for a polyphasic approach for identification, which reflects the natural classification of species and subspecific taxa within the genus (Cai et al., 2009). Berberis aquifolium (Berberidaceae) is a plant native to western North America. is species was introduced to Europe as an ornamental plant in the 1820s. Acta Mycologica / 2021 / Volume 56 / Article 565 Publisher: Polish Botanical Society 1 https://doi.org/10.5586/am.565 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8901-0552 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8901-0552 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3120-276X mailto:urszula.swiderska-burek@poczta.umcs.lublin.pl Świderska-Burek / Colletotrichum japonicum on Berberis aquifolium – Third Locality Worldwide Table 1 Features of Colletotrichum species reported to be associated with Berberis aquifolium leaves. C. fioriniae (Marcelino & Gouli) Pennycook C. japonicum (Hemmi) Bedlan C. mahoniae Fabric. C. nymphaeae (Pass.) Aa Leaf spots Up to 10 mm 1–5 mm 1–1.5 mm 0.5–5 mm Irregularly circular Mostly irregularly shaped Rounded Roundish Brown, with a margin, surrounded by a chloric halo First greyish-brown, finally grey Grey Pale brownish, greyish-brown with a dark reddish-brown to purplish-brown margin, later dark brown to black Conidia 9.9–14 × 3–4.3 μm∗ 10.65–16.83 × 5.08–7.51 μm 12–12.5 × 4.5–5 μm 11.8–23 × 4.2–5.6 μm Mostly ellipsoidal, short cylindrical or ovoid Cylindrical Ellipsoidal or cylindrical Ends rounded Hyaline, two-punctated or granulated Rounded at the apex, attenu- ated, occasionally truncate at the base Setae No data Very few If present then occur abun- dantly, with swelled basis Not formed References Garibaldi et al., 2020 Bedlan, 2012 Fabricatore, 1950 van der Aa, 1978 ∗ Measurements based on in vitro cultures. At present, it grows in many parts of Europe (Sorokopudov et al., 2017). It was introduced in Poland in 1839, and the status of this species has changed from a crop plant to a locally established and invasive species (Tokarska-Guzik et al., 2012). According to A preliminary checklist of micromycetes in Poland, 23 Colletotrichum species were reported in Poland up until 2008 (Mułenko et al., 2008), while 26 species are currently known (Farr & Rossman, 2020; Jayawardena et al., 2016; Okorski et al., 2018; Pszczółkowska et al., 2016, 2017). e present paper provides information about a new Colletotrichum species for Polish funga (C. japonicum on B. aquifolium); it also reports the second locality of the fungus in Europe and third worldwide. 2. Material and Methods e infected leaves of B. aquifolium were collected in the Botanical Garden of Maria Curie-Skłodowska University (UMCS) in Lublin in 2018. e material sample was stained with cotton blue in lactic acid and gently heated. Observations were made using an Olympus SZX10 stereoscopic microscope and an Olympus CX31 light microscope. Photographic documentation was taken with an Olympus XC50 microscope camera. Measurements were made at ×600 and/or ×300 magnifications. Structure size ranges were specified based on 10 measurements of acervuli, 15 setae, and 30 conidia. e publications mentioned in Table 1 were used for identification of the fungus. e name of the host plant and its synonym is accepted following e Plant List (http://www.theplantlist.org/). e examined specimen is deposited in the herbarium of Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin (LBL). 3. Results Colletotrichum japonicum (Hemmi) Bedlan, J. Kulturpfl. 64(12): 478–481. 2012 (Figure 1) Leaf spots mostly elliptical, roundish, or irregular, 2–6 mm in diameter, greyish-brown to greyish with blackish-brown margin. Acervuli within the spots, epiphyllous, 112–300 × 90–180 μm, oen with setae. Setae short, black-brown, straight or slightly curved, 40–55 × 3–3.5 μm. Conidia one-celled, hyaline, elliptical or ovoid, straight or slightly curved, rounded at the ends, 12.5–17 × 4.5–6.5 μm. Acta Mycologica / 2021 / Volume 56 / Article 565 Publisher: Polish Botanical Society 2 http://www.theplantlist.org/ Świderska-Burek / Colletotrichum japonicum on Berberis aquifolium – Third Locality Worldwide Figure 1 Colletotrichum japonicum on Berberis aquifolium (LBL M–32789). (A) Leaf spots with visible acervuli. (B) Acervuli. (C) Acervulus with setae. (D) Conidia. Scale bars: (A) 15 mm; (B) 200 μm; (C,D) 50 μm. Structures in a microscopic preparation stained with cotton blue in lactic acid. Photographs: U. Świderska-Burek. Specimen examined: On Berberis aquifolium Pursh (Berberidaceae). Poland: Lublin – Botanical Garden of the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, September 25, 2018, leg. U. Świderska-Burek (LBL M–32789). 4. Comments e analyzed Polish sample exhibits the features of C. japonicum provided in the literature from Austria (Table 1), i.e., the only locality worldwide where the fungus has been noted on the same host (B. aquifolium) (Bedlan, 2012). On B. aquifolium, three other Colletotrichum species have been reported to date. All of them, C. nymphaeae (Damm et al., 2012), C. mahoniae (Fabricatore, 1950), and C. fioriniae (Garibaldi et al., 2020), were reported from Italy. Additionally, two species were recorded on another host species from the Mahonia genus (currently assigned to the Berberis genus), i.e., M. bealei (Fortune) Pynaert: C. mahoniae from Georgia and C. gloeosporioides Penz. (probable host M. bealei incorrectly reported as M. healei) from China (Bedlan, 2012; Farr & Rossman, 2020). Acknowledgments I would like to thank Dr. Grażyna Szymczak, the director of the Botanical Garden of UMCS in Lublin, for facilitating the research, notably the collection of plants infected by the fungus. Acta Mycologica / 2021 / Volume 56 / Article 565 Publisher: Polish Botanical Society 3 Świderska-Burek / Colletotrichum japonicum on Berberis aquifolium – Third Locality Worldwide References Bedlan, G. (2012). Mahonia aquifolium – eine neue Wirtspflanze von Colletotrichum japonicum comb. nov. [Mahonia aquifolium – A new host plant of Colletotrichum japonicum comb. nov.]. Journal für Kulturpflanzen, 64(12), 478–481. https://doi.org/10.5073/JfK.2012.12.04 Cai, L., Hyde, K. D., Taylor, P. W. J., Weir, B., Waller, J., Abang, M. M., Zhang, J. Z., Yang, Y. L., Phoulivong, S., Liu, Z. Y., Prihastuti, H., Shivas, R. G., McKenzie, E. H. C., & Johnston, P. R. (2009). A polyphasic approach for studying Colletotrichum. Fungal Diversity, 39(1), 183–204. Cannon, P. F., Damm, U., Johnston, P. R., & Weir, B. S. (2012). Colletotrichum – Current status and future directions. Studies in Mycology, 73, 181–213. https://doi.org/10.3114/sim0014 Damm, U., Cannon, P. F., Woudenberg, J. H. C., & Crous, P. W. (2012). e Colletotrichum acutatum species complex. Studies in Mycology, 73, 37–113. https://doi.org/10.3114/sim0010 Fabricatore, J. M. (1950). Colletotrichum mahoniae n. sp. parassita su foglie di Mahonia aquifolium [Colletotrichum mahoniae n. sp. parasite on leaves of Mahonia aquifolium]. Bollettino della Stazione di Patologia Vegetale, 6, 133–139. Farr, D. F., & Rossman, A. Y. (2020). Fungal Databases, U.S. National Fungus Collections, ARS, USDA. Retrieved August 21, 2020, from https://nt.ars-grin.gov/fungaldatabases/ Garibaldi, A., Bertetti, D., Matic, S., Luongo, I., Guarnaccia, V., & Gullino, M. L. (2020). First report of leaf blight caused by Colletotrichum fioriniae on Mahonia aquifolium in Italy. Plant Disease, 104(3), 983. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-10-19-2104-PDN Hyde, K. D., Cai, L., Cannon, P. F., Crouch, J. A., Crous, P. W., Damm, U., Goodwin, P. H., Chen, H., Johnston, P. R., Jones, E. B. G., Liu, Z. Y., McKenzie, E. H. C., Moriwaki, J., Noireung, P., Pennycook, S. R., Pfenning, L. H., Prihastuti, H., Sato, T., Shivas, R. G., … Zhang, J. Z. (2009). Colletotrichum – Names in current use. Fungal Diversity, 39(1), 147–182. Jayawardena, R. S., Hyde, K. D., Damm, U., Cai, L., Liu, M., Li, X. H., Zhang, W., Zhao, W. S., & Yan, J. Y. (2016). Notes on currently accepted species of Colletotrichum. Mycosphere, 7(8), 1192–1260. https://doi.org/10.5943/mycosphere/si/2c/1 Mułenko, W., Majewski, T., & Ruszkiewicz-Michalska, M. (Eds.). (2008). A preliminary checklist of micromycetes in Poland. W. Szafer Institute of Botany, Polish Academy Sciences. Okorski, A., Pszczółkowska, A., Sulima, P., Paukszto, Ł., Jastrzębski, J. P., Przyborowski, J., & Makowczenko, K. G. (2018). First report of willow anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum salicis in Poland. Plant Disease, 102(10), 2036–2037. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-12-17-2023-PDN Pszczółkowska, A., Okorski, A., Paukszto, Ł., & Jastrzębski, J. (2016). First report of anthracnose disease caused by Colletotrichum fioriniae on blueberry in western Poland. Plant Disease, 100(10), 2167–2167. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-04-16-0425-PDN Pszczółkowska, A., Okorski, A., Paukszto, L., Jastrzebski, J., Gorzkowska, A., Charenska, A., & Makowczenko, K. G. (2017). First report of Fagus sylvatica leaf spot infection by Colletotrichum fioriniae in forest nurseries in northeastern Poland. Plant Disease, 101(10), 1822–1823. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-04-17-0471-PDN Sharma, G., & Shenoy, B. D. (2016). Colletotrichum systematics: Past, present and prospects. Mycosphere, 7(8), 1093–1102. https://doi.org/10.5943/mycosphere/si/2c/2 Sorokopudov, V. N., Myachikova, N. I., & Georgescu, C. (2017). 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Acta Mycologica / 2021 / Volume 56 / Article 565 Publisher: Polish Botanical Society 4 https://doi.org/10.5073/JfK.2012.12.04 https://doi.org/10.3114/sim0014 https://doi.org/10.3114/sim0010 https://nt.ars-grin.gov/fungaldatabases/ https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-10-19-2104-PDN https://doi.org/10.5943/mycosphere/si/2c/1 https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-12-17-2023-PDN https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-04-16-0425-PDN https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-04-17-0471-PDN https://doi.org/10.5943/mycosphere/si/2c/2 https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01981538 The Third Report of Colletotrichum japonicum Worldwide 1 Introduction Table 1 2 Material and Methods 3 Results Figure 1 4 Comments Acknowledgments References