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Monilinia species in Hungary: morphology, culture characteristics, and molecular analysis

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Abstract

Monilinia is a well-known pathogen of fruit trees affecting fruit production all over the world. Three species of the Monilinia genus are particularly important with regard to fruit trees and ornamentals, causing serious blossom and twig blight and brown rot in fruits: Monilinia fructicola, Monilinia fructigena, and Monilinia laxa. In this study, Monilinia isolates were compared and identified using classical and molecular methods. Morphological and culture characteristics were determined and pathogenicity testing performed. In addition, internal transcribed spacer regions and a genomic sequence with unknown function were analyzed and compared with sequence data from other Monilinia species in an international database. Four Monilinia/Monilia species were identified: M. fructicola, Monilia polystroma, M. fructigena, and M. laxa. M. fructicola was isolated from imported peach fruits. M. polystroma was first reported from Hungary and Europe on apple shoots and fruits. M. fructigena was identified on tea-rose hybrid pseudofruits, which is the first occurrence of this pathogen on this host. M. laxa causes brown rot of grapes, which has only been reported in New Zealand. Substitutions and insertions were detected when comparing M. laxa, M. fructigena, and M. polystroma sequences. In the genomic sequence with unknown function, three repetitive sequence motifs were identified in different numbers, depending on species and isolate. On the phylogram produced in this analysis, the Hungarian M. polystroma isolate (UFT) and M. polystroma reference isolates localized at a different branch than the closely related M. fructigena isolates and other Monilinia species.

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Acknowledgments

The project was funded by TÁMOP- 4.2.1./B-09/1-KMR-2010-0005 and TÁMOP- 4.2.2./B-10/1-2010-0023 grants. We thank Gábor Markó for his help with statistical analysis.

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Author notes

  1. András Szigethy

    Present address: Plant Protection Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 102, 1525, Budapest, Hungary

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Horticultural Science, Department of Plant Pathology, Corvinus University of Budapest, Ménesi Road 44, 1118, Budapest, Hungary

    Marietta Petróczy & László Palkovics

Authors
  1. Marietta Petróczy
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  2. András Szigethy
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  3. László Palkovics
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Correspondence to László Palkovics.

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Communicated by D. Treutter.

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Petróczy, M., Szigethy, A. & Palkovics, L. Monilinia species in Hungary: morphology, culture characteristics, and molecular analysis. Trees 26, 153–164 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-011-0622-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-011-0622-2

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