First Report of Penicillium olsonii Causing Strawberry Fruit Rot in China
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa) is a commercially important crop in China and is highly susceptible to fungal diseases. A field survey was conducted in commercial strawberry fields in Changping District, Beijing, where symptomatic ’Hongyan’ plants showing fruit rot were collected. Tissue isolation yielded four Penicillium isolates from rotten fruits. Further species delineation was carried out using multi-locus phylogenetic analyses of the Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS), Calmodulin (CaM), RNA polymerase II second-largest subunit (rpb2), and Beta-tubulin (tub2) genes. Morphological and molecular phylogenetic analyses confirmed that our isolates are Penicillium olsonii. Prior to the pathogenicity essays, a pilot test was conducted to optimize the most suitable surface-sterilization method for strawberry fruit. Results from a pilot test of surface sterilization showed that 75% ethanol for 30 s, followed by 5% NaOCl for 2 minutes, and a final wash with sterile distilled water three times was the most effective treatment for reducing contamination on fruit samples. Pathogenicity assays were conducted on detached, wounded, and non-wounded fruits by inoculating 20 µL of a 1.0 × 106 conidia/mL spore suspension, while sterile distilled water was used as the control, with five replicates. The results demonstrated that P. olsonii caused typical fruit rot symptoms similar to those observed in the field, and the pathogen was reisolated, fulfilling Koch’s postulates. This study identifies P. olsonii causing strawberry fruit rot for the first time worldwide. Our results highlight the phytopathological significance of Penicillium as a field pathogen rather than a typical postharvest pathogens.
Source: Plant Disease
Institution: Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences
Language: English
Subfield: Cell Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
SDG: Zero hunger
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7146937487