Abstract
During August to October 2012, several cherry packers in central Washington State reported that a significant volume of sweet cherries (Prunus avium) (cvs. Staccato, Sweetheart, and Lapin) were rotten by an unknown fungal pathogen after packing. Of 14 boxes (9 kg per box) of commercially packed cherries rejected by a retailer, the average incidence of the decay was 68%. Initial symptoms on infected fruit appeared as soft, slippery skin with tan discoloration and later skin cracking, epidermal breakdown, and severe pitting were observed. To isolate the causal agent, decayed fruit were rinsed with water, sprayed with 70% ethanol, and air-dried in a laminar hood. After removing the fruit skin with a sterile scalpel, small fragments of fruit flesh between decayed and healthy tissue were cut and placed on potato dextrose agar (PDA) acidified with 0.1% lactic acid. The plates were incubated at 20°C for 7 days and sub-cultured on PDA to obtain pure cultures. The colonies initially appeared white to cream, yeast-like, and later turned to light yellow to pink or brown with age. Conidia were hyaline, smooth-walled, single-celled, and ellipsoidal with variable shape and size. The fungus was identified as Aureobasidium pullulans (de Bary) G. Arnaud based on its morphology (1). The identity of three representative isolates were further confirmed by analysis of nucleotide sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions amplified using the primers ITS1/ITS4. A BLAST search showed that the sequences had 99% homology (E-value = 0.0) with that of A. pullulans deposited at GenBank (Accession No. JF440584.1). The nucleotide sequence of the isolate, A625, has been assigned GenBank Accession No. KF569512. To test pathogenicity, three single-spore isolates were grown on PDA at 20°C. Cultures grown on 10-day-old PDA were flooded with 20 ml of sterile deionized water, and the resulting conidial suspensions were filtered through two layers of cheesecloth and adjusted to 5 × 10 5 conidia/ml with a hemacytometer. Organic cherry fruit (cv. Bing for isolate A625 and cv. Sweetheart for isolates A755 and A757) were surface-disinfested in 0.6% sodium hypochlorite solution for 5 min, rinsed twice with deionized water, and air-dried. Ten fruit per replicate, four replications per treatment were inoculated with the conidial suspension using a hand sprayer and placed on sterilized wet paper towel in a plastic container. Control fruit were sprayed with sterile water. All fruit were incubated at 22 ± 1°C for 5 days. The experiments were conducted twice. The same symptoms of skin cracking and epidermal breakdown developed on 73% of the inoculated fruit, while no such symptoms appeared on the control fruit. Koch's postulates were fulfilled by re-isolating the fungus from the symptomatic fruit. A. pullulans, a ubiquitous saprophytic fungus on many fruits, has been reported as a causal agent of melting decay in grapes (2). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of postharvest fruit rot in sweet cherries caused by A. pullulans. References: (1) E. J. Hermanides-Nijhof. Aureobasidium and related genera. Pages 141-181 in: The Black Yeasts and Allied Hyphomycetes. Stud. Mycol. No. 15. Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures, Baarn, The Netherlands, 1977. (2) D. P. Morgan and T. J. Michailides. Plant Dis. 88:1047, 2004.
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Claims 8
Claim · model-written summary
Rejected packed sweet cherries had 68% average decay incidence.
- Taxon
- sweet cherries
Prunus aviume0 - Outcome
- incidence of the decaye1
- Value
- 68%e1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“sweet cherries (Prunus avium) (cvs. Staccato, Sweetheart, and Lapin) were rotten by an unknown fungal pathogen after packing”
e1“the average incidence of the decay was 68%”
Claim · model-written summary
Infected cherries developed soft slippery tan skin, then cracking, epidermal breakdown and pitting.
- Taxon
- Sweet CherriesPrunus aviumt0
- Organ / stage
- fruite0
- Outcome
- soft, slippery skin with tan discoloration and later skin cracking, epidermal breakdown, and severe pittinge0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Sweet Cherries”
e0“Initial symptoms on infected fruit appeared as soft, slippery skin with tan discoloration and later skin cracking, epidermal breakdown, and severe pitting were observed”
Claim · model-written summary
The cherry rot fungus was identified as Aureobasidium pullulans based on morphology.
- Taxon
- Sweet CherriesPrunus aviumt0
- Interactor
- Aureobasidium pullulans
Aureobasidium pullulanse0pathogen - Outcome
- identified as Aureobasidium pullulanse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Sweet Cherries”
e0“The fungus was identified as Aureobasidium pullulans (de Bary) G. Arnaud based on its morphology”
Claim · model-written summary
Three isolates had ITS sequences with 99% homology to A. pullulans.
- Taxon
- Sweet CherriesPrunus aviumt0
- Interactor
- A. pullulansAureobasidium pullulanse1pathogen
- Outcome
- homologye1
- Value
- 99%e1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Sweet Cherries”
e0“The identity of three representative isolates were further confirmed by analysis of nucleotide sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions”
e1“the sequences had 99% homology (E-value = 0.0) with that of A. pullulans deposited at GenBank”
Claim · model-written summary
Isolate A625 received GenBank accession KF569512.
- Taxon
- Sweet CherriesPrunus aviumt0
- Outcome
- GenBank Accession No. KF569512e0
Not reportedValue
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Sweet Cherries”
e0“The nucleotide sequence of the isolate, A625, has been assigned GenBank Accession No. KF569512”
Claim · model-written summary
Inoculation produced cracking and epidermal breakdown in 73% of cherry fruit, absent in controls.
- Taxon
- Sweet CherriesPrunus aviumt0
- Treatment
- inoculated fruite0
- Outcome
- symptoms of skin cracking and epidermal breakdowne0
- Direction
- developede0
- Value
- 73%e0
- Comparator
- control fruite0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Sweet Cherries”
e0“The same symptoms of skin cracking and epidermal breakdown developed on 73% of the inoculated fruit, while no such symptoms appeared on the control fruit”
Claim · model-written summary
Re-isolation of the fungus from symptomatic cherry fruit fulfilled Koch’s postulates.
- Taxon
- Sweet CherriesPrunus aviumt0
- Organ / stage
- symptomatic fruite0
- Outcome
- Koch's postulates were fulfillede0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Sweet Cherries”
e0“Koch's postulates were fulfilled by re-isolating the fungus from the symptomatic fruit”
Claim · model-written summary
This was reported as the first postharvest sweet cherry rot caused by A. pullulans.
- Taxon
- Sweet CherriesPrunus aviumt0
- Interactor
- A. pullulansAureobasidium pullulanse0pathogen
- Outcome
- postharvest fruit rot in sweet cherriese0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Sweet Cherries”
e0“the first report of postharvest fruit rot in sweet cherries caused by A. pullulans”
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inoculation · disease · Prunus avium (sweet cherry)Positive and negative results
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