Abstract
Lasiodiplodia species commonly thrive as endophytes, saprobes, and plant pathogens in tropical and subtropical regions. Association of Lasiodiplodia species causing stem rot in dragon fruit in the coastal belt of Odisha, eastern India, has been illustrated here. The stem rot disease was characterized by yellowing of the stem, followed by softening of the stem tissues with fungal fructifications of the pathogen in the affected tissues. On the basis of macro- and micromorphological characteristics, the four fungal isolates recovered from diseased stems were identified initially as Lasiodiplodia species. By comparing DNA sequences within the NCBI GenBank database as well as performing a multigene phylogenetic analysis involving the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS-rDNA), β-tubulin (β-tub), and elongation factor-alpha (EF1-α) genes, the identity of Lasiodiplodia isolates was determined. The isolate CHES-21-DFCA was identified as Lasiodiplodia iraniensis (syn: L. iranensis) and the remaining three isolates, namely CHES-22-DFCA-1, CHES-22-DFCA-2, and CHES-22-DFCA-3, as L. theobromae. Although pathogenicity studies confirmed both L. iraniensis and L. theobromae were responsible for stem rot in dragon fruit, L. iraniensis was more virulent than L. theobromae. This study established the association of Lasiodiplodia species with stem rot in dragon fruit using a polyphasic approach. Further investigations are required, particularly related to on host–pathogen–weather interaction and spatiotemporal distribution across the major dragon fruit–growing areas of the country to formulate prospective disease management strategies. This is the first report on these two species of Lasiodiplodia inflicting stem rot in Hylocereus species in India.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability
Data will be made available on request.
Change history
27 October 2023
A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13205-023-03800-y
References
Abdollahzadeh J, Javadi A, Goltapeh EM, Zare R, Phillips AJL (2010) Phylogeny and morphology of four new species of Lasiodiplodia from Iran. Persoonia 25:1–10. https://doi.org/10.3767/003158510X524150
Abirami K, Sakthivel K, Sheoran N, Baskaran V, Gutam K, Jerard BA, Kumar A (2019) Occurrence of anthracnose disease caused by Colletotrichum siamense on dragon fruit (Hylocereus undatus) in Andaman Islands. India Plant Dis 103(4):768. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-09-18-1489-PDN
Aloi F, Giambra S, Schena L, Surico G, Pane A, Gusella G, Stracquadanio C, Burruano S, Cacciola SO (2020) New insights into scabby canker of Opuntia ficus-indica, caused by Neofusicoccum batangarum. Phytopathol Mediterr 59:269–284. https://doi.org/10.14601/Phyto-11225
Aloi F, Riolo M, Parlascino R, Pane A, Cacciola SO (2021) Bot Gummosis of Lemon (Citrus × limon) Caused by Neofusicoccum parvum. J Fungi 7:294. https://doi.org/10.3390/jof7040294
Al-Sadi AM, Al-Wehaibi AN, Al-Shariqi RM, Al-Hammadi MS, Al-Hosni IA, Al-Mahmooli IH, Al-Ghaithi AG (2013) Population genetic analysis reveals diversity in Lasiodiplodia spp. infecting date palm Citrus, and mango in Oman and the UAE. Plant Dis 97:1363–1369. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-03-13-0245-RE
Altschul SF, Gish W, Miller W, Myers EW, Lipman DJ (1990) Basic local alignment search tool. J of Mol Biol 215(3):403–410. https://doi.org/10.1006/jmbi.1990.9999
Alves A, Correia A, Phillips AJL (2006) Multi-gene genealogies and morphological data support Diplodia cupressi sp. nov., previously recognized as D. pinea f. sp. cupressi, as a distinct species. Fungal Divers 23(1):1–15
Alves A, Crous PW, Correia A, Phillips AJL (2008) Morphological and molecular data reveal cryptic species in Lasiodiplodia theobromae. Fungal Divers 28:1–13
Balendres M, Bengoa J (2019) Diseases of dragon fruit (Hylocereus species): etiology and current management options. Crop Prot 126:104920. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cropro.2019.104920
Barthlott W, Hunt DR (1993) Cactaceae. In: Kubitzki K (ed) The families and the genera of vascular plants. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, pp 161–196. https://doi.org/10.2307/25065357
Bautista-Cruz MA, Almaguer-Vargas G, Leyva-Mir SG, Colinas-Leon MT, Correia KC, Camacho-Tapia M, Robles-Yerena L, Michereff SJ, Tovar-Pedraza JM (2019) Phylogeny, distribution and pathogenicity of Lasiodiplodia Species associated with cankers and dieback symptoms of Persian lime in Mexico. Plant Dis 103:1156–1165. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-06-18-1036-RE
Blodgett JT, Stanosz GR (1995) Sphaeropsis sapinea and host water stress in a red pine plantation in central Wisconsin. Phytopathology 85:1044. https://doi.org/10.1094/phyto.1997.87.4.429
Briste PS, Bhuiyan MAHB, Akanda AM, Hassan O, Mahmud NU, Kader MA, Chang T, Islam MT (2019) First report of dragon fruit stem canker caused by Lasiodiplodia theobromae in Bangladesh. Plant Dis 103:2686. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-03-19-0619-PDN
Briste PS, Akanda AM, Bhuiyan Md, Abdullahil BB, Mahmud NU, Islam T (2022) Morphomolecular and cultural characteristics and host range of Lasiodiplodia theobromae causing stem canker disease in dragon fruit. J Basic Microbiol 62(689–700):62. https://doi.org/10.1002/jobm.202100501
Burgess TI, Tan YP, Garnas J, Edwards J, Scarlett KA, Shuttleworth LA (2018) Current status of the Botryosphaeriaceae in Australia. Australas Plant Pathol 48(1):35–44. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13313-13018-10559-13317
Chen S (2015) β-Resorcylic acid derivatives with α-glucosidase inhibitory activity from Lasiodiplodia sp. ZJ-HQ1, an endophytic fungus in the medicinal plant Acanthus ilicifolius. Phytochem Lett 13:141–146. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phytol.2015.05.019
Cruywagen EM, Slippers B, Roux J, Wingfield MJ (2017) Phylogenetic species recognition and hybridisation in Lasiodiplodia: a case study on species from baobabs. Fungal Biol 121(4):420–436. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.funbio.2016.07.014
de Mello JF, de Queiroz Brito AC, dos Santos Oliveira da Silva E et al (2022) First report of Lasiodiplodia pseudotheobromae causing cladode rot in Hylocereus sp. in Brazil. J Plant Pathol 104:899. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-05-22-1192-PDN
Denman S, Crous PW, Taylor JE, Kang JC, Pascoe I, Wingfield MJ (2000) An overview of the taxonomic history of Botryosphaeria and a re-evaluation of its anamorphs based on morphology and ITS rDNA phylogeny. Stud Mycol 45:129–140
Dissanayake AJ (2015) Lasiodiplodia pseudotheobromae causes pedicel and peduncle discolouration of grapes in China. Australas Plant Dis Notes 10:21. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13314-015-0170-5
Dsouza AD, Ramesh M (2002) Senescence in fungi. Resonance 7:51–55. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02896308
Fayyaz A, Bonello P, Tufail M, Amrao L, Habib A, Gai Y, Sahi ST (2018) First report of citrus wither tip (Tip Dieback), a disease complex caused by Colletotrichum siamense and Lasiodiplodia iraniensis on Citrus reticulata cv. Kinnow in Punjab Pakistan. Plant Dis. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-04-18-0576-PDN
Fullerton RA, Sutherland PA, Rebstock RS, Nguyen TH, Nguyen NAT, Dang TL, Ngo TKT, Nguyen VH (2018) The Life Cycle of Dragon Fruit Canker Caused by Neoscytalidium dimidiatum and implications for control. Proceedings of dragon fruit regional network initiation workshop. FFTC, Taipei, pp 71–80
Glass NL, Donaldson GC (1995) Development of primer sets designed for use with the PCR to amplify conserved genes from filamentous ascomycetes. Appl Environ Microbiol 61:1323–1330. https://doi.org/10.1128/aem.61.4.1323-1330.1995
Hall TA (1999) BioEdit: a user-friendly biological sequence alignment editor and analysis program for Windows 95/98/NT. Nucleic acids symposium series [London]. Information Retrieval Ltd Springer, pp 1979–2000. https://doi.org/10.12691/ajmr-3-2-1
Hamidah S, Zainuddin M (2007) Disease of dragon fruit: Hylocereus sp. National Horticulture Conference of Malaysia
Jami F, Slippers B, Wingfield MJ, Gryzenhout M (2013) Greater Botryosphaeriaceae diversity in healthy than associated diseased Acacia karroo tree tissues. Aust Plant Pathol 42:421–430. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13313-013-0209-z
Jibrin M, Qingchun L, Yi H, Urbina H, Gazis R, Zhang S (2022) Lasiodiplodia iraniensis, a new causal agent of tuber rot on yam (Dioscorea species) imported into the United States and implications for quarantine decisions. Plant Dis. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-11-21-2421-SC.10.1094/PDIS-11-21-2421-SC
Karim MM, Rahman MM, Islam MN, Akhter MS, Khatun F, Rahman ML, Goswami BK (2019) Occurrence of stem rot disease of Hylocereus undatus in Bangladesh. Indian Phytopathol 72:545–549. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42360-019-00166-1
Karunakaran G, Arivalagan M, Sriram S (2019) Dragon fruit country report from India. FFTC Agricultural Policy Platform (FFTC-AP), pp 1–8
Khanchouch K, Pane A, Chriki A, Cacciola SO (2017) Major and emerging fungal diseases of Citrus in the Mediterranean region. Citrus Pathology. https://doi.org/10.5772/66943
Li G, Arnold R, Liu F, Li J, Chen S (2015) Identification and Pathogenicity of Lasiodiplodia Species from Eucalyptus urophylla × grandis, Polyscias balfouriana and Bougainvillea spectabilis in Southern China. J Phytopathol 163(11/12):956–967. https://doi.org/10.1111/jph.12398
Liang L, Li H, Zhou L, Chen F (2020) Lasiodiplodia pseudotheobromae causes stem canker of Chinese hackberry in China. J for Res 31:2571–2580. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-019-01049-x
Liu JK, Phookamsak R, Doilom M (2012) Towards a natural classification of Botryosphaeriales. Fungal Divers 57:149–210. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13225-012-0207-4
Marques MW, Lima NB, Morais MA Jr, Barbosa MAG, Souza O, Michereff SJ, Phillips AJL, Camara MPS (2013) Species of Lasiodiplodia associated with mango in Brazil. Fungal Divers 61:181–193. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13225-013-0231-z
Masi M, Aloi F, Nocera P, Cacciola SO, Surico G, Evidente A (2020) Phytotoxic metabolites isolated from Neufusicoccum batangarum, the causal agent of the scabby canker of cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica L.). Toxins 12:126. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins12020126
Mercado-Silva EM (2018) Pitaya- Hylocereus undatus (Haw). Exotic Fruits Reference Guide. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-803138-4.00045-9
Mohd MH, Salleh B, Zakaria L (2013) Identification and molecular characterizations of Neoscytalidium dimidiatum causing stem canker of red-fleshed dragon fruit (Hylocereus polyrhizus) in Malaysia. J Phytopathol 161:841–849. https://doi.org/10.1111/jph.12146
Mullen JM, Gilliam CH, Hagan AK, Morgan-Jones G (1991) Canker of dogwood caused by Lasiodiplodia theobromae, a disease influenced by drought stress or cultivar selection. Plant Dis 75:886–889. https://doi.org/10.1094/PD-75-0886
Netto MSB, Lima WG, Correia KC, DaSilva CFB, Thon M, Martins RB, Miller RNG, Michereff SJ, Ca mara MPS, (2017) Analysis of phylogeny, distribution, and pathogenicity of Botryosphaeriaceae species associated with gummosis of Anacardium in Brazil, with a new species of Lasiodiplodia. Fungal Biol 121:437–451. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.funbio.2016.07.006
Parameswari B, Bajaru B, Sivaraj N (2021) First record of cactus virus X in dragon fruit (Hylocereus spp.) in India. Indian Phytopathol. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42360-021-00421-4
Phillips AJL, Alves A, Abdollahzadeh J, Slippers B, Wingfield MJ, Groenewald JZ (2013) The Botryosphaeriaceae: genera and species known from culture. Stud Mycol 76(1):51–167. https://doi.org/10.3114/sim0021
Phillips AJL, Hyde KD, Alves A, Liu JK (2019) Families in botryosphaeriales: a phylogenetic, morphological and evolutionary perspective. Fungal Divers 94:1–22. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13225-018-0416-6
Punithalingam E (1976) Botryodiplodia theobromae. CMI descriptions of pathogenic fungi and bacteria, No. 519. Commonwealth Mycological Institute, Kew. https://doi.org/10.1079/DFB/20056400519
Punithalingam E (1980) Plant diseases attributed to Botryodiplodia theobromae Pat. Cramer, Vaduz
Raimondo F, Nardini A, Salleo S, Cacciola SO, Gullo MAL (2010) A tracheomycosis as a tool for studying the impact of stem xylem dysfunction on leaf water status and gas exchange in Citrus aurantium L. Trees 24:327–333. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-009-0402-4
Rodriguez-Galvez E, Maldonado E, Alves A (2015) Identification and pathogenicity of Lasiodiplodia theobromae causing dieback of table grapes in Peru. Eur J Plant Pathol 141:477–489. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10658-014-0557-8
Rodriguez-Galvez E, Guerrero P, Barradas C, Crous PW, Alves A (2017) Phylogeny and pathogenicity of Lasiodiplodia species associated with dieback of mango in Peru. Fungal Biol 121(4):452–465. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.funbio.2016.06.004
Salunkhe VN, Bhagat YS, Chavan SB, Lonkar SG, Kakade VD (2022) First report of Neoscytalidium dimidiatum causing stem canker of dragon fruit (Hylocereus spp.) in India. Plant Dis. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-04-22-0909-PDN
Schoeneweiss DF (1981) The role of environmental stress in diseases of woody plants. Plant Dis 65:308–314. https://doi.org/10.1094/PD-65-308
Serrato-Diaz LM, Goenaga R (2021) First report of Neoscytalidium dimidiatum causing stem canker on dragon fruit (Hylocereus spp.) in Puerto Rico. Plant Dis 105:2728. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-10-20-2265-PDN
Slippers B, Wingfield MJ (2007) Botryosphaeriaceae as endophytes and latent pathogens of woody plants: diversity, ecology and impact. Fungal Biol Rev 21:90–106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fbr.2007.06.002
Slippers B, Johnson GI, Crous PW, Coutinho TA, Wingfield BD, Wingfield MJ (2005) Phylogenetic and morphological re-evaluation of the Botryosphaeria species causing diseases of Mangifera indica. Mycologia 97(1):99–110. https://doi.org/10.3852/mycologia.97.1.99
Slippers B, Roux J, Wingfield MJ, van der Walt FJJ, Jami F, Mehl JWM, Marais GJ (2014) Confronting the constraints of morphological taxonomy in the Botryosphaeriales. Persoonia 33:155–168. https://doi.org/10.3767/003158514X684780
Slippers B, Crous PW, Jami F, Groenewald JZ, Wingfield MJ (2017) Diversity in the Botryosphaeriales: Looking back, looking forward. Fungal Biol 121:307–321. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.funbio.2017.02.002
Sosa D, Parra F, Noceda C, Pérez-Martínez S (2016) Co-occurrence of pathogenic and not pathogenic Fusarium decemcellulare and Lasiodiplodia theobromae isolates within cushion galls disease of cacao (Theobroma cacao L.). J Plant Prot Res. https://doi.org/10.1515/jppr-2016-0020
Tel Zur NY (2015) R&D of Pitahayas - dragon fruit – vine cacti: limitations and challenges and the current global market. Acta Hortic 1067:365–370. https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2015.1067.50
Tel-Zur NY, Mizrahi A, Mouyal CJ, Schneider B, Doyle JJ (2011) Phenotypic and genomic characterization of vine cactus collection (Cactaceae). Genet Resour and Crop Evol 58:1075–1085. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-010-9643-8
Vaidya G, Lohman DJ, Meier R (2011) Sequence matrix: concatenation software for the fast 735 assembly of multi-gene datasets with character set and codon information. Cladistics 27:171–736. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1096-0031.2010.00329.x
White TJ, Bruns T, Lee S, Taylor J (1990) Amplification and direct sequencing of fungal ribosomal RNA genes for phylogenetics. PCR protocols: a guide to methods and applications. Academic Press, San Diego, pp 315–322. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-372180-8.50042-1
Zhang L (2012) Global Forest pest health profile: a case study under the global forest resources assessment 2005. China Agricultural Press, Beijing
Zhang Y, Zhou Y, Sun W, Zhao L, Pavlic-Zupanc D, Crous PW, Slippers B, Dai Y (2021) Toward a natural classification of Botryosphaeriaceae: a study of the type specimens of Botryosphaeria sensulato. Front Microbiol 12:737541. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2021.737541
Acknowledgements
The authors extend sincere thanks to the Director, ICAR-IIHR, Bengaluru, India, for the facilities provided.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest in the publication.
Ethical approval
This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals (vertebrates) performed by any of the authors.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Ganesan, S., Kumari, N., Sahu, S. et al. Identification of Lasiodiplodia species inciting stem rot of dragon fruit in India through polyphasic approach. 3 Biotech 13, 333 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13205-023-03754-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13205-023-03754-1