Fungal Fruit Research Articles

Recognition of Edible Fungi Fruit Body Diseases Based on Improved ShuffleNetV2

Early recognition of fruit body diseases in edible fungi can effectively improve the quality and yield of edible fungi. This study proposes a method based on improved ShuffleNetV2 for edible fungi fruit body disease recognition. First, the ShuffleNetV2+SE model is constructed by deeply integrating the SE module with the ShuffleNetV2 network to make the network pay more attention to the target area and improve the model’s disease classification performance. Second, the network model is optimized and improved. To simplify the convolution operation, the 1 × 1 convolution layer after the 3 × 3 depth convolution layer is removed, and the ShuffleNetV2-Lite+SE model is established. The experimental results indicate that the accuracy, precision, recall, and Macro-F1 value of the ShuffleNetV2-Lite+SE model on the test set are, respectively, 96.19%, 96.43%, 96.07%, and 96.25%, which are 4.85, 4.89, 3.86, and 5.37 percent higher than those before improvement. Meanwhile, the number of model parameters and the average iteration time are 1.6 MB and 41 s, which is 0.2 MB higher and 4 s lower than that before the improvement, respectively. Compared with the common lightweight convolutional neural networks MobileNetV2, MobileNetV3, DenseNet, and EfficientNet, the proposed model achieves higher recognition accuracy, and its number of model parameters is significantly reduced. In addition, the average iteration time is reduced by 37.88%, 31.67%, 33.87%, and 42.25%, respectively. The ShuffleNetV2-Lite+SE model proposed in this paper has a good balance among performance, number of parameters, and real-time performance. It is suitable for deploying on resource-limited devices such as mobile terminals and helps in realization of real-time and accurate recognition of fruit body diseases of edible fungi.

Phylogeny, Taxonomy and Evolutionary Trade-Offs in Reproductive Traits of Gomphoid Fungi (Gomphaceae, Gomphales).

Although functional ecology is a well-established field, our understanding of the evolutionary and ecological significance of the reproductive traits in macrofungi is still limited. Here, we reconstructed a phylogeny tree of gomphoid fungi in the narrower sense, including the species of the genera Gomphus and Turbinellus and used it to uncover the evolution of reproductive traits. Our analyses indicated that fungal fruit bodies and spores did not enlarge at a steady rate over time. Early gomphoid fungi essentially maintained their fruit body size, spore size and spore shape through the Mesozoic. In the Cenozoic, gomphoid fungi acquired significantly larger and more spherical spores by simultaneously expanding in length and width, with the fruit body size first decreasing and then enlarging. We argue that these trade-offs were driven by the effect of biological extinction and the dramatic climate changes of the Cenozoic. Gomphoid fungi initially increased in spore size and fruit body number as extinction survivors filled vacant niches. Both fruit bodies and spores eventually became larger as ecosystems saturated and competition intensified. One new species of Gomphus and nine new species of Turbinellus are described.

Diversity of Mycogenic Oxide and Chalcogenide Nanoparticles: A Review.

Oxide and chalcogenide nanoparticles have great potential for use in biomedicine, engineering, agriculture, environmental protection, and other research fields. The myco-synthesis of nanoparticles with fungal cultures, their metabolites, culture liquids, and mycelial and fruit body extracts is simple, cheap and environmentally friendly. The characteristics of nanoparticles, including their size, shape, homogeneity, stability, physical properties and biological activity, can be tuned by changing the myco-synthesis conditions. This review summarizes the data on the diversity of oxide and chalcogenide nanoparticles produced by various fungal species under different experimental conditions.

High-Throughput DNA Metabarcoding of Stem Sections from Trees with Cavities Describes Fungal Communities Associated with Variable Wood Decay, Position on Stem and Tree Species

The presence of unculturable fungi, variability in timing and frequency of fungal fruiting, hyper-rich fungal communities, and genetic and environmental variability explains the difficulty in adopting ideal sampling schemes and fungal identification approaches in studies of fungal communities in wood at variable stages of decay. Here, we use intensive within-tree sampling of five standing trees with cavities paired with high-throughput DNA metabarcoding, to study fungal communities in decayed and healthy wood of trees from two Populus species in British Columbia, Canada. The amplification of over 3000 fungal DNA sequence variants shows the presence of a hyper-rich wood fungal community that not only varied depending on PCR primers, tree species, tree stem portion and wood decay stage. but also included a large number of taxa unassignable to any known sub-kingdom taxonomic order based on published DNA sequences. Our data show that the use of two different primer sets greatly increases the power of the metabarcoding analysis. By testing three alternative models of fungal community composition, we identify the model that best explains fungal community by considering the position on the stem and distance from the cavity. We suggest this model may be used to design optimal sampling schemes to describe fungal communities in trees experiencing discrete decay pockets or cavities.

Quantification of invertebrates on fungal fruit bodies by the use of time‐lapse cameras

Abstract Fungi and invertebrates comprise a major part of biodiversity in dead wood ecosystems and invertebrates depend on fungi to utilise the dead wood resource. Many invertebrates also visit the long‐lived fruit bodies of wood‐decay fungi to feed on spores, the hymenium or other invertebrates. However, as traditional sampling methods are labour‐intensive, we know little of these interactions. In this study, we use time‐lapse cameras to monitor invertebrates visiting the hymenium of a common wood‐decay fungus, Fomitopsis pinicola, and explain their activity in terms of temporal variation, temperature and presence of Gyrophaena boleti, a highly abundant fungivorous beetle living primarily in fruit bodies of F. pinicola. The most common invertebrates on F. pinicola fruit bodies were Coleoptera, Araneae, Diptera, Gastropoda and Chilopoda. The invertebrate activity exhibited strong temporal variation with higher abundance during night and, for Coleoptera, earlier in the season. We discuss how this might correlate with the sporulation period of F. pinicola. The presence of G. boleti had a positive impact on the predatory Lordithon lunulatus and Ipidia binotata, and a negative impact on the fungivorous Thymalus limbatus and Peltis ferruginea. Chilopoda and L. lunulatus were ephemeral visitors, while the fungivorous Coleoptera and Araneae stayed the longest. We estimated the invertebrates' visitation frequency and duration, which would be time‐consuming to obtain with traditional methods. We offer improvements to our method and urge future research on invertebrate–fungus interactions to quantify invertebrate visits to fungal fruit bodies.

Tomato LysM receptor kinase 4 mediates chitin-elicited fungal resistance in both leaves and fruit.

Fungal infection is a major cause of crop and fruit losses. Recognition of chitin, a component of fungal cell walls, endows plants with enhanced fungal resistance. Here, we found that mutation of tomato LysM receptor kinase 4 (SlLYK4) and chitin elicitor receptor kinase 1 (SlCERK1) impaired chitin-induced immune responses in tomato leaves. Compared with the wild type, sllyk4 and slcerk1 mutant leaves were more susceptible to Botrytis cinerea (gray mold). SlLYK4 extracellular domain showed strong binding affinity to chitin, and the binding of SlLYK4 induced SlLYK4-SlCERK1 association. Remarkably, qRT-PCR analysis indicated that SlLYK4 was highly expressed in tomato fruit, and β-GLUCURONIDASE (GUS) expression driven by the SlLYK4 promoter was observed in tomato fruit. Furthermore, SlLYK4 overexpression enhanced disease resistance not only in leaves but also in fruit. Our study suggests that chitin-mediated immunity plays a role in fruit, providing a possible way to reduce fungal infection-related fruit losses by enhancing the chitin-induced immune responses.

Vibrations and mushrooms: Do environmental vibrations promote fungal growth and fruit body formation?

The authors declare no conflicts of interest. Data (Kobayashi et al., 2023) are available on Figshare at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.21677513. Appendix S1. Appendix S2. Appendix S3. Appendix S4. Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.

Field inoculation by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi with contrasting life-history strategies differently affects tomato nutrient uptake and residue decomposition dynamics

PurposePlant microbial biostimulants, such as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), enhance nutrient concentration in fruits, including tomato. However, field studies on tomato AMF inoculation are scarce. AMF species belonging to Gigasporaceae and Glomeraceae families known to vary in life-history strategies may determine differential effects on plant nutrient benefits and residue decomposition. Despite this, the effect of different life-history strategies on nutrient acquisition of tomato fruits has not been investigated yet.MethodsWe studied the effect of inoculation of two tomato varieties with four AMF species belonging to Glomeraceae and Gigasporaceae. Fungal colonization, yield, fruit nutrient concentration, litter decomposition, and bacterial and fungal abundances in soil were assessed in the field under organic agriculture.ResultsOverall Gigasporaceae promoted the concentration of nutrients in tomato fruits compared to Glomeraceae. A variability in AM fungal colonization and fruit nutrient concentration was detected within Glomeraceae. Scutellospora pellucida increased the yield (+ 27%) of var. Rio Grande with respect to Gigaspora gigantea. In var. Rio Grande, inoculation with Funneliformis mosseae did not change litter decomposition as compared to non-inoculated controls, whereas it was lower than in Sclerocystis sinuosa and Gigasporaceae species, which showed the highest decomposition rates. AMF inoculation promoted soil total bacterial and fungal abundance and fungal:bacterial (F:B) ratio compared to controls, and members of Gigasporaceae had the highest F:B ratio.ConclusionThese findings pointed at the inclusion of AM fungal life-history strategy within the selection criteria for the development of biofertilizers able to enhance the nutritional value of vegetables under organic farming systems.

Relationships between fungal diversity and fruit quality of Yuluxiang pear during low temperature storage.

Postharvest decay is an urgent problem that affects the storage of pears. Low temperature storage is one of the most important methods to reduce the prevalence of fruit diseases during storage. In this study, the microbial diversity of postharvest Yuluxiang pear (Pyrus × michauxii "Yu Lu Xiang") fruits stored at low temperature for different lengths of times was analyzed. Illumina MiSeq high-throughput sequencing was used to analyze the composition and diversity of fungal communities. The results showed that the fungi within fruit were classified into 6 phyla, 18 classes, 40 orders, 72 families, and 92 genera based on the 97% sequence similarity level. They belonged to 6 phyla, 18 classes, 40 orders, 72 families, and 92 genera. The highest richness of fungi was obtained after 30 d of treatment. The β-diversity index showed that the fungal community composition of these fruit was significantly different at the beginning of storage compared with the different timepoints of samples at low temperature during storage. The comparison of fungal composition at the phylum level indicated that Ascomycota was dominant in the different timepoints of samples at low temperature, while Alternaria was the primary fungus at the genus level. A correlation analysis was used to further explore the correlation between fungi and fruit firmness, titratable acid, and solid soluble contents at low temperatures during storage. Aureobasidium and Didymella positively correlated with the soluble solids and hardness. Phoma positively correlated with the titratable acid, and Aspergillus positively correlated with titratable acid and hardness. This study can guide the industrial production of Yulu pear and also provide a theoretical basis to prevent and control diseases during the storage period of Yulu pear.

Preharvest application with calcium and maturity at harvest affects postharvest fungal fruit decay of European plum

The combination of preharvest treatments with calcium chloride and fungicides, and storage of maturity graded fruit were assessed in five European plum cultivars. At harvest, samples of fruit within a commercially suitable range in ripening were divided into two categories: less-ripe (tree ripe-) and more-ripe (tree ripe+). The fruit were stored for 10–14 days at 4 °C followed by 2–3 days at 20 °C before the assessment of fungal decay. If calcium chloride was applied six times each season, postharvest fruit decay was significantly reduced in four of nine experiments, with a total mean reduction of around 50%. Two calcium applications in combination with a fungicide treatment reduced decay by approx. 60% compared to the untreated in one experiment. In six of seven experiments there was no effect of preharvest fungicide applications. In six of 10 experiments, fruit of the category tree ripe- had fewer fruit with fungal decay after storage than the tree ripe+fruit. The higher incidence in the category tree ripe+fruit was primarily due to brown rot, Mucor rot, and blue mould. For the category tree ripe+, there was two to ten times more decay than on tree ripe- fruit after a simulated shelf-life period. To ensure low incidence of fungal decay, fruit of commercial harvest maturity may thus be separated in two ripening categories, one for rapid distribution to the market (tree ripe+) and another for extended distribution time (tree ripe-).

The history of research of fungi and fungi-like organisms on the territory of the Hutsulshchyna NNP and the role of security, protection and the environmental measures by in situ, ex situ, re situ in conserving their diversity

The chronology of researches the fungi and fungi-like organisms on the territory of the Hutsulshchyna National Nature Park is described. Information is bases on the Chronicles of Nature of the Park since the time of it creation. The contribution of researchers in the study of the fungal biodiversion of the Park is noted. 1.01.2022 List of fungi of the Park counts 1214 species, of which 23 species are included in the Red Book of Ukraine. The information about in situ, ex situ and re situ methods are represented. In situ method aims the preservation of fungi and their localities. Ex situ method is expressed by introduction into artificial culture of fungi and maintenance of viability of fungal mycelium in collections of pure cultures. Re situ method is expressed by reproduction of aboriginal strains species of fungi in their natural conditions, involving in situ and ex situ practice. The environmental effect of using in situ, ex situ and re situ measures on the territory of Hutsulshchyna National Park is described. The development of growing methods for rare species of fungi in laboratory conditions is pointed. Reducing the threat of extinction of rare fungi due to re-situ technology and systematic fruiting of fungi at the mycological reproductive areas is explained. Certain legal aspects of protection of fungi and mushroom-like organisms are described within the "Program of protection, preservation and reproduction of rare species of fungi", approved by the Scientific and Technical Council of NNP "Hutsulshchyna". The question of creating the protection zones for rare species of fungi is outlined. The collections of macromycetes of Hutsulshchyna National Park are briefly described. The collection of pure cultures numbers 7 species of 13 strains, the collection of herbarium and wet preparations numbers 175 specimens. The important scientific and educational role of the collections is noted, the main purpose of their further operation is marked, as well as the methods and results of popularization of scientific researches among children, youth and adults. The connection of scientific achievements with the creation of a favorable economic climate for the community is indicated. Probably positive results of introduction of new recreational services - fungi therapy routes and commercial cultivation of new species of edible, rare, pharmaceutically popular species of fungi are marked.

Antifungal and Nanozyme Activities of Metal–Organic Framework‐derived CuO@C

Postharvest fungal infection is the common cause of fresh fruit losses. Thus, effective antifungal agents are highly required. Herein, copper‐based metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) were used as a precursor for the synthesis of copper oxide (CuO) embedded into carbon (CuO@C). The materials' crystallinity was confirmed using X‐ray diffraction. X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) approve the elemental species and concentration of copper in the synthesized materials. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high‐resolution TEM (HR‐TEM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) reveal the successful formation of CuO‐embedded C, that is, CuO@C, with a particle size of 36–123 nm. CuO@C nanoparticles are used as an antifungal agent against four economic postharvest plant pathogens; Alternaria alternata (black spot disease of tomato), Fusarium oxysporum (rot disease of tomato), Penicillium digitatum (gray mold disease of lemon), and Rhizopus oryzae (soft rot disease of banana). The inhibition zones were 36 ± 0.5, 20.2 ± 0.4, 16 ± 0.5, and 10.2 ± 0.1 mm for R. oryzae, P. digitatum, F. oxysporum, and A. alternata, respectively. CuO@C antifungal action includes significant inhibition of cellulases and amylase enzyme activity, decreasing the potentiality of fungal pathogenicity and fruit disease. CuO@C exhibited high antifungal activity against postharvest antifungal species.

Climate-induced long-term changes in the phenology of Mediterranean fungi

Long-term responses in the phenology of Mediterranean macrofungi to climatic changes are poorly documented. Here, we address this issue by comparing the fruiting patterns of 159 fungal species in Southern France between the first half of the 19th century and the first decade of the 21st century. We used a trait-based approach to assess the influence of phenology and morphology of fungal fruit bodies and their site ecology and biogeography on the response to climate change. We show that early autumnal fruiters, epigeous species and species with affinities for cold climates now start to fruit on average 16.4, 17.3 and 17.3 d later compared to their emergence dates in the 19th century, while late fruiters, hypogeous species and Mediterranean-restricted species did not change their fruiting date. Among ecological guilds, saproxylic species and pine-associated mutualists delayed their autumnal emergence by 32.5 and 19.2 d, likely in response to a delayed rewetting of litter and woody debris after extended summer drought. Our results suggest that long-term climate warming in the Mediterranean was accompanied by contrasting changes in the emergence of fungal fruit bodies according to ecological guilds, sporocarp life-forms and forest types.

The Pathogen of Top Rot Disease in Rosa roxburghii and Its Effective Control Fungicides

Top rot is a new fungal fruit disease in Rosa roxburghii production regions of southwest China. In this study, the pathogen of top rot disease in R. roxburghii fruits was firstly identified as Colletotrichum fructicola CXCDF-3 based on the pathogenicity, morphology, and multigene phylogenetic analysis. The biological property test results indicated that the optimal growth conditions of C. fructicola CXCDF-3 were 25 °C, pH 6.0~8.0, full light or darkness, D-(+) maltose, peptone, and PDA medium. Moreover, difenoconazole, tebuconazole, azoxystrobin, prothioconazole, thiophanate-methyl, prochloraz, carbendazim, and cyprodinil displayed superior toxicity activities to C. fructicola CXCDF-3 with EC50 values of 0.26, 0.64, 0.99, 2.15, 4.64, 4.89, 7.27, and 7.73 mg L−1, respectively. The field control efficacies of 80% tebuconazole water-dispersible granule (WG) 6000-fold liquid, 10% difenoconazole WG 5000-fold liquid, and 250 g/L azoxystrobin emulsifiable concentrate (SC) 1000-fold liquid against top rot disease of R. roxburghii fruits were 85.44%, 84.47%, and 83.50%, respectively. This study reports for the first time that the novel top rot disease in R. roxburghii is caused by C. fructicola and highlights that 80% tebuconazole WG, 10% difenoconazole WG, and 250 g/L azoxystrobin SC could be recommended for controlling top rot disease.

Phorbol ester biodegradation in Jatropha curcas cake and potential as a substrate for enzyme and Pleurotus pulmonarius edible mushroom production

Jatropha curcas is a model for biorefinery applications. Although J. curcas cake (JCC), a product of oil extraction, shows potential in animal feed, inactivation of toxic phorbol esters (PE) in residues is necessary. Biological detoxification offers promise for animal feed, as well as for edible mushroom and enzyme production. Here, strains of Aurantioporus pulcherrimus, Ganoderma lucidum, Agaricus sp., Agaricus fuscofibrillosus, Agaricus mediofuscus, Ascopolyporus sp., Panaeolus antillarum, Lentinus strigellus, Amylosporus sp. and Pleurotus pulmonarius were screened for degradation of PE in JCC. These selected macrofungi degraded PE in solid culture over a 30-day period at 28 °C. Among the evaluated basidiomycetes, P. pulmonarius displayed the highest rate of PE degradation, reaching 97% efficiency. To induce the formation of fruiting bodies, P. pulmonarius was further cultivated over 60 days in JCC and five different JCC formulations, each supplemented with an additional lignocellulosic source, with up to a 99.5% degradation of the toxic compound achieved. Fungal fruiting was observed in four of the formulations tested. Biological efficiency (BE) reached 25% in a formulation of JCC plus sawdust. Ligninases, cellulases, hemicellulases, proteases, phytases, esterases and lipase activities were quantified from crude extracts of Spent Mushroom Substrate (SMS) from this formulation. Bromatological analyses here also revealed increases in protein content, Neutral Detergent Fiber (NDF), Acid Detergent Fiber (ADF), cellulose and hemicellulose, and a reduction in dry matter, lignin, and ethereal extract. In conclusion, P. pulmonarius was efficient in degradation of PE in JCC, with the residue appropriate for animal feed input, for production of edible mushrooms, and as a source of enzymes of biotechnological interest.

Environmental drivers shaping the macrofungal sporocarp community in Mediterranean Quercus ilex stands

Holm oak is one of the most abundant tree-forming species in the Mediterranean area, hosting a great number of fungal species that are fundamental for the functioning of these forest ecosystems. However, the information about the fungal communities growing in Quercus ilex stands and the environmental drivers shaping their fruiting patterns is still scarce. This study aimed to characterize the productivity, diversity, and community composition of macrofungal sporocarps growing in Mediterranean Quercus ilex stands as shaped by key environmental drivers including meteorological and soil variables. We analysed a data set obtained from the autumn weekly sampling of all macrofungal sporocarps from 8 permanent plots over 13 consecutive years, and related weather and soil variables. We built up several linear mixed-effects models to describe productivity and richness changes over time, in addition to multivariate analyses aiming to describe the community composition variations. We identified 241 macrofungal species that were predominantly ectomycorrhizal, with Russulaceae and Cortinariaceae being the most abundant families. Agaricaceae and Tricholomataceae were the most abundant families of saprotrophic fungi. In addition, soil properties such as pH, organic matter and sand content played a significant role in sporocarp community composition. Our results highlight different drivers shaping different fungal fruiting processes, i.e., weather variables drive sporocarp productivity and sporocarp richness while soil characteristics may have a stronger influence on the aboveground fungal community composition. This study illustrates the high stochasticity of sporocarp occurrence and productivity, with species exhibiting higher values whenever the meteorological conditions were suitable for fungal fruiting.

Penicillium growth inhibition, fruit decay reduction, and polymethoxyflavones and scoparone induction in satsuma mandarin irradiated with ultraviolet-A light-emitting diodes

In this study, we investigated the effects of ultraviolet (UV)-A light-emitting diodes (LEDs) on the inhibition of fungal spore germination, fruit decay, and accumulation of secondary metabolites, including phytoalexins, in satsuma mandarin. We examined the growth and development of blue (Penicillium italicum) and green (Penicillium digitatum) molds exposed to UV-A LED irradiation in vitro and found that UV-A LEDs with an emission peak of 375 nm and light intensity of 9.4 W m−2 significantly reduced the growth of both these fungi. In addition, wounded fruits inoculated with P. digitatum were irradiated with UV-A LEDs for 6 days, and we monitored the subsequent changes in green mold symptoms. The results indicated that low-intensity UV-A LED treatment significantly reduced green mold symptoms in fruit, being the effect most pronounced inhibitory on Penicillium sporulation. Furthermore, wounded fruits subjected to UV-A LED treatment were found to have significantly higher contents of the coumarin compound scoparone than fruits maintained in the dark. Contrastingly, scoparone was barely detectable in non-wounded fruits, irrespective of UV-A LED irradiation. The contents of nobiletin, tangeretin, and hesperidin were likewise found to be higher in wounded fruits treated with UV-A LED than in either non-wounded or non-irradiated fruits. These results indicate that treatment with low-intensity UV-A LED irradiation is sufficient to reduce mold symptom development, and accordingly could represent a promising safe approach to the control of post-harvest decay in citrus fruits. On the basis of our observations, we speculate that the biosynthesis of scoparone, polymethoxyflavones, and flavanones could be induced when the peel is injured and irradiated with UV-A contributing to a reduction in fruit decay.

Seasonal changes in mycophagous insect communities

The phenology of fungal fruiting has changed in the UK over the last 70 years, but whether the associated mycophagous insects are able to exploit 'out of season' fruit bodies is unknown. This study focused on whether fungal baits can be used as a proxy to examine changes in fungal fruiting on insect communities. Using Agaricus bisporus as a bait, mushrooms were placed into two separate woodlands monthly from November 2020 to July 2021. Megaselia rufipes (Phoridae) and Bradysia spp. (Sciaridae) were reared from both wild fungi and fungal baits at different times, making them appropriate species to consider for possible host tracking. Various factors affect an insect's ability to track a fungal host, these include host preference, season, period of fungal fruiting and age of mushroom. Increased fruiting of macrofungi in the future may benefit generalist mycophagous insects, by providing enhanced temporal and spatial resource opportunities. Using fungal baits as a proxy for the effects of climate change on fungal fruiting should be beneficial in uncovering the host preferences of mycophagous insects and may potentially indicate whether mycophagous insects can track fungal hosts across seasons.

Influence of rutin on fruiting of Hericium coralloides, Polyporus umbellatus, and Flammulina velutipes

ABSTRACT We studied the effect of rutin on mycelial growth and fruiting of Hericium coralloides, Polyporus umbellatus, and Flammulina velutipes on sunflower husks and on agar nutrient media. On sunflower husks, rutin (300 mg/30 g husk) inhibits the mycelial growth of H. coralloides, but the formation of fruiting bodies of the fungus occurs 3 weeks earlier than on the substrate, where rutin was not used. In half of the cases with rutin, we observed two waves of fungus fruiting. The weight of fruiting bodies formed on sunflower husks with rutin was 2.5 times greater than the weight of fruiting bodies formed on sunflower husks without rutin. For P. umbellatus and F. velutipes, adding rutin (300 mg/30 g husk) confers no net benefit. On wort agar (WA), the addition of rutin at concentrations of 50, 100, 200, and 300 mg per Petri dish inhibits the mycelial growth of H. coralloides but stimulates the rapid emergence of the fungus fruiting bodies rudiments. For F. velutipes on WA, rutin accelerates the complete overgrowth of the fungus on the Petri dish twice as fast, but it is not effective for accelerating fruiting. Rutin does not stimulate the formation sclerotia of P. umbellatus. Due to the fact that rutin is a stimulant of fruiting bodies only for H. coralloides, we believe that the initiating mechanism causing fungal fruiting is not isolated only to rutin. However, it may be more widely effective in influencing growth in mycelium than is shown in this study due to a limited number of strains. Production of metabolites as a result of secondary synthesis need to be tested as do more strains/species from a diverse group of Agaricomycetes.

First Report of Aspergillus versicolor Associated with Fruit Rot Disease of Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) from India.

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is an important vegetable crop and cultivated throughout India. During 2019-20, Karnataka produced 2163 tonnes of tomato, accounting for 10.51 percent of total production (https://agricoop.gov.in/horticulture-reports). During a survey conducted in September 2019 in southern Karnataka region, severe fungi fruit rot symptoms were observed on at harvest in a 18 hectare production operation. The incidence of fruit rot disease was estimated around 12–14% in an area of 18 hectares (~62 fields). The necrotic lesions on infected fruit were covered with. The fruit rot was characterised by necrosis lesions filled with black fungal fruiting bodies, which later became soft and fully necrotic. A total of 20 samples were used for isolation and diagnostics. Infected fruit rot samples were surface sterilized with 2% NaOCl for 2 min, rinsed thrice in sterile distilled water, and plated on potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium amended with chloramphenicol (40mg/L). The plates were incubated at 28±2 °C and pure cultures were obtained by hyphal tip excision. On PDA medium, fungal colonies were initially white, but later turned to yellow green, often intermixed with pink sections. They produced sulcate and centrally raised sporulating conidiophores which were hyaline or slightly pigmented with smooth walls. Vesicles produced on conidiophores were sub-globose to ellipsoidal with phialides borne on metulae. Conidia were globose, brownish and conspicuously echinulate. On the basis morphological and cultural characteristics, the causative pathogen was identified to be Aspergillus versicolor (Jurjevic et al., 2012). Further molecular characterization was also done by amplifying internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region using universal ITS1-ITS4 primers with three representative isolates (White et al. 1990). Genomic DNA was isolated using CTAB using 15 days old culture followed by PCR amplification using ITS1-ITS4 primer pair and sequencing. The sequences analysis had 100% (561/561 base pairs) similarity with the reference sequences of Aspergillus versicolor (KU318417.1, MT798844.1) according to BLAST analysis in GenBank. The representative sequence of ITS-rDNA for three isolates viz., A. versicolor NCM_1, NCM_2 & NCM_3 were deposited in GenBank (Accession number: MZ520551.1 – MZ520553.1). Pathogenicity tests were conducted on 10 healthy mature fruit of tomato F1 hybrid (INDAM 3003) using wound inoculation (conidial suspension 3 × 106 conidia mL−1). Several tomato fruit (n=5) were only inoculated with sterile water to serve as controls. The experiments were conducted in triplicates with 10 fruits each and repeated three times (Mahadevakumar et al. 2019). Within 7 days of post-inoculation, fruit rot symptoms similar to those in the original out break in Karnataka were observed on all inoculated fruit. Control fruit remained asymptomatic even after 10 days. The pathogen was reisolated from diseased fruit and the identity was confirmed based on morphology and ITS sequencing. A. versicolor has been reported as a post-harvest fungal pathogen on other various vegetable crops (Aidoo, 1993). Tomato fruit rots are known to be a major problem (Nizamani et al., 2021) in the region. However, there no reports of tomato fruit rot caused by A. versicolor in India (Farr and Rossman, 2021), which warrants additional attention as a potential threat to regional production.