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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Kearneysville, West Virginia » Appalachian Fruit Research Laboratory » Innovative Fruit Production, Improvement, and Protection » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #408074
Research Project: Integrated Production and Automation Systems for Temperate Fruit Crops

Location: Innovative Fruit Production, Improvement, and Protection

Title: First report of Diaporthe sp. from the D. arctii species complex causing postharvest decay of European pear in West Virginia, United States

Author
item BENNETT, JOHN - Pennsylvania State University
item Evans, Breyn
item BARNES, CAITLIN - Orise Fellow
item Collum, Tamara

Submitted to: Plant Disease
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/17/2024
Publication Date: 2/3/2025
Citation: Bennett, J., Evans, B.E., Barnes, C., Collum, T.D. 2025. First report of Diaporthe sp. from the D. arctii species complex causing postharvest decay of European pear in West Virginia, United States. Plant Disease. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-09-23-1794-PDN.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-09-23-1794-PDN

Interpretive Summary: Fungal pathogens that can cause fruit decay during cold storage present an ongoing major challenge to pear growers and packers. In this study, a Diaporthe sp. in the D. arctii species complex was identified as a cause of fruit decay on European pears for the first time in the United States. Diaporthe species are important plant pathognes that can cause severe losses in fruit crops. This research provides new information on a previously unknown pathogen of pear fruit and will aid in monitoring the severity of Diaporthe species in pear production within the United States.

Technical Abstract: In November 2022, a European pear (Pyrus communis L.) ‘Shenandoah’ presenting brown discoloration and softening of the tissue over 75% of the fruit surface was found in cold storage at the USDA, Appalachian Fruit Research Station in Kearneysville, West Virginia. Two of the 24 ‘Shenandoah’ pears in storage displayed the disease symptoms described. Identification of a representative isolate (WV22SR1P5) was confirmed by partial sequencing of five genomic loci: internal transcribed spacer (ITS), translation elongation factor-1 alpha (TEF1), beta-tubulin (TUB), histone H3 (HIS), and calmodulin (CAL) (GenBank accession nos. OR504473, OR504505, OR504506, PP213454, and PP213453 respectively). Based on a maximum-likelihood phylogenetic tree of concatenated genes (ITS-TEF1-TUB-HIS-CAL) from published isolates WV22SR1P5 was most closely related to a Diaporthe sp. in the D. arctii species complex, Section Sojae, reported to cause disease on cucumber that has not yet been given a Latin binomial (Moodispaw et al. 2023). The WV22SR1P5 isolate was deposited in the USDA-ARS Culture Collection (NRRL# 64834). Koch’s postulates were conducted using European pears ‘Bartlett’ that were wound inoculated with the Diaporthe isolate grown on PDA. Lesion development was observed within 72 hours and matched the decay symptoms on the original pear selected from cold storage. Fungal colonies cultured on PDA obtained from inoculated pears were morphologically and molecularly identified as the same Diaporthe sp. by sequencing of TEF1 and TUB loci. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a Diaporthe sp. in the D. arctii species complex causing postharvest decay of European pear in the United States and West Virginia, specifically.