title: Endophytic fungi from plums (Prunus domestica) and their antifungal activity against Monilinia fructicola.
abstract: Enophytic fungi were isolated from plum (Prunus domestica) leaves, identified with ITS1 and ITS4 primers, and their antagonistic activity was tested against Monilinia fructicola, which causes brown rot, blossom blight, and twig blight of stone fruits, and Colletotrichum  gloeosporioides, which causes anthracnose on a variety of fruit crops. The production of antifungal compounds was determined in agar-diffusion and volatile inverted-plate tests. A total of 163 fungi were recovered from 30 plum trees, representing 22 cultivars. Twenty-nine morphotypes were  detected, but only 14 species were identified genetically. The most frequently isolated species was Phaeosphaeria nodorum, constituting 86.5% of the total isolates. Four isolates produced inhibitory volatiles to M. fructicola; however, no isolate produced volatiles inhibitory  to C. gloeosporioides. The volatiles produced by these fungi were identified as ethyl acetate, 3-methyl-1-butanol, acetic acid, 2-propyn-1-ol, and 2-propenenitrile. The fungal volatiles inhibited growth and reduced width of the hyphae, and caused disintegration of the hyphal content.  This is the first study describing fungal endophytes in stone fruits. The P. nodorum strains producing inhibitory volatiles could play a significant role in reduction of M. fructicola expansion in plum tissues. Potential of these strains for biological control of this pathogen  on stone fruits warrants further investigation.
authors.affiliation: Appalachian Fruit Research Station, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, 2217 Wiltshire Road, Kearneysville, West Virginia 25430, USA.
authors.forename: Raphael Sanzio
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Pimenta
authors.forename: Juliana F Moreira
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: da Silva
authors.forename: Jeffrey S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Buyer
authors.forename: Wojciech J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Janisiewicz
mesh_terms: D000898:Antibiosis; D001203:Ascomycota / Q000254:growth & development*; D020231:Colletotrichum / Q000254:growth & development*; D003257:Consumer Product Safety; D060026:Endophytes / Q000502:physiology*; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis / Q000517:prevention & control; D005519:Food Preservation / Q000379:methods; D005638:Fruit / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D010572:Pest Control, Biological / Q000379:methods; D027861:Prunus / Q000382:microbiology*