New reports of Gilbertella persicaria causing post-harvest rot in different fruits in Brazil

Mucorales is an order of mostly saprobic fungi which includes broad host range plant pathogens. They are often associated with fruits, causing post-harvest deterioration and economic loss. In markets in the municipality of Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil, fruits with symptoms of soft rot and the presence of fungi with the appearance of Mucorales have been observed. Sporangiophores bearing black and globose sporangia were visualized on the surface of the rotten tissues. Isolates obtained from symptomatic tissues were cultured in potato dextrose agar culture medium, and cultural and microscopic observations were performed. According to the morphological characteristics, the isolates were identified as Gilbertella persicaria and their identity was confirmed by phylogenetic analyses of the ITS and LSU rDNA regions. Gilbertella persicaria, the unique species of the genus, is commonly found in soil, water, dung and often isolated from fruit with post-harvest soft rot. In the present study, nine isolates were obtained and identified, five from acerola, two from cashew, one from papaya and breadfruit. To our knowledge, this is the first report of G. persicaria causing acerola and papaya rot in Brazil and the first report of the species as a cashew and breadfruit pathogen in the world.