title: Pichia angusta is an effective biocontrol yeast against postharvest decay of apple fruit caused by Botrytis cinerea and Monilia fructicola.
abstract: The efficacy of eight isolates of Pichia angusta against three common postharvest pathogens of apple fruit was evaluated for the first time. All tested strains showed significant biocontrol activity against both Botrytis cinerea and Monilia fructicola, whereas efficacy against Penicillium expansum was poor. A leucine-auxotrophic mutant had no significant biocontrol activity against brown rot of apple, while the addition of 0.6-1.2 g L(-1) leucine in the fruit wound fully restored the biocontrol activity of this mutant against M. fructicola. Given the extremely well-developed classical and molecular genetics, the availability of genomic libraries, and its complete genomic sequence, this species can serve to elucidate the mechanisms related to biocontrol capacity.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Protezione delle Piante-Center for Biotechnology Development and Biodiversity Research and Unità di ricerca Istituto Nazionale Biostrutture e Biosistemi, Università degli Studi di Sassari, Sassari, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fiori
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fadda
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Giobbe
authors.forename: Enrico
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Berardi
authors.forename: Quirico
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Migheli
mesh_terms: D020171:Botrytis / Q000254:growth & development / Q000472:pathogenicity; D002175:Candida / Q000254:growth & development / Q000472:pathogenicity; D027845:Malus / Q000382:microbiology*; D010572:Pest Control, Biological; D010843:Pichia / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*