Analysis of Fungicide Sensitivity and Genetic Diversity among Colletotrichum Species in Sweet Persimmon

Anthracnose, caused by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides (C. gloeosporioides; Teleomorph: Glomerella cingulata), is the most destructive disease that affects sweet persimmon production worldwide. However, the biology, ecology, and genetic variations of C. gloeosporioides remain largely unknown. Therefore, in this study, the development of fungicide resistance and genetic diversity among an anthracnose pathogen population with different geographical origins and the exposure of this population to different cultivation strategies were investigated. A total of 150 pathogen isolates were tested in fungicide sensitivity assays. Five of the tested fungicides suppressed mycelial pathogen growth effectively. However, there were significant differences in the sensitivities exhibited by the pathogen isolates examined. Interestingly, the isolates obtained from practical management orchards versus organic cultivation orchards showed no differences in sensitivity to the same fungicide. PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analyses were performed to detect internal transcribed spacer regions and the β-tubulin and glutamine synthetase genes of the pathogens examined. Both the glutamine synthetase and β-tubulin genes contained a complex set of polymorphisms. Based on these results, the pathogens isolated from organic cultivation orchards were found to have more diversity than the isolates obtained from the practical management orchards.