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Brown spot of pear, an emerging disease in Argentina: identification and pathogenicity characterization of Argentinean Stemphylium vesicarium isolates

European Journal of Plant Pathology volume 163, pages 529–544 (2022)Cite this article

Abstract

Recently, a new plant disease was detected in the rural area of the High Valley of Río Negro, in Northern Patagonia, Argentina, called “Brown Spot of Pear” (BSP), caused by Stemphylium vesicarium (teleomorph: Pleospora herbarum, syn. Pantoea allii) in its sexual and asexual stages which produces lesions on leaves and fruits. BSP has been reported previously in pear growing areas of Europe and Japan where research studies have assessed the production of two host-specific toxins (HSTs) in culture filtrates of S. vesicarium (SV-I and SV-II toxin). The purpose of the present study was to characterize Stemphylium isolates from air and from brown spot lesions on pear leaves and fruits grown in this rural area, at a morphological, molecular and pathogenic level. The pathogen’s identity was determined as S. vesicarium and its aggressiveness and toxicity were demonstrated through conidia and culture filtrate bioassays showing different degrees of pathogenicity. D’Anjou and Abate Fetel were the most susceptible pear cultivars to S. vesicarium isolates.

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Universidad Nacional de Río Negro, Argentina and Universidad Nacional de Quilmes, Argentina. The authors also wish to thank researchers Kumiko Osaki-Oka y Roxana Parada Jaco from Tottori University (Japan) for their collaboration during this research.

Funding

This work was supported by Universidad Nacional de Río Negro [grant numbers PI 40-A-627]; Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA) and Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia de Río Negro, Universidad Nacional de Río Negro (UNRN), Villa Regina, Río Negro, Argentina

    Carolina Virginia Temperini

  2. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Carolina Virginia Temperini, Marisa Andrea Aluminé Tudela, Alejandro Guillermo Pardo & Graciela Noemí Pose

  3. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Alto Valle, Allen, Río Negro, Argentina

    Marisa Andrea Aluminé Tudela & Susana Noemí Di Masi

  4. Facultad de Economía y Administración, Departamento de Estadística, Universidad Nacional del Comahue (UNCOMA), Neuquén, Neuquén, Argentina

    Gustavo Nestor Gimenez

  5. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología, Instituto de Microbiología Básica y Aplicada, Laboratorio de Micología Molecular, Universidad Nacional de Quilmes (UNQ), Bernal, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Alejandro Guillermo Pardo & Graciela Noemí Pose

  6. Instituto Tecnológico de Chascomús (INTECH) CONICET-UNSAM, Laboratorio de Micología y Cultivo de Hongos Comestibles y Medicinales, Chascomús, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Graciela Noemí Pose

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  1. Carolina Virginia Temperini
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Correspondence to Carolina Virginia Temperini.

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Temperini, C.V., Tudela, M.A.A., Gimenez, G.N. et al. Brown spot of pear, an emerging disease in Argentina: identification and pathogenicity characterization of Argentinean Stemphylium vesicarium isolates. Eur J Plant Pathol 163, 529–544 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10658-022-02493-y

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Keywords

  • Brown spot of pear
  • Stemphylium vesicarium
  • SV-toxins
  • Emerging disease
  • Climate change