title: Unveiling Members of Colletotrichum acutatum Species Complex Causing Colletotrichum Leaf Disease of Hevea brasiliensis in Sri Lanka.
abstract: Colletotrichum is an important fungal genus with great diversity, which causes anthracnose of a variety of crop plants including rubber trees. Colletotrichum acutatum and Colletotrichum gloeosporioides have been identified as the major causative agents of Colletotrichum leaf disease of rubber trees in Sri Lanka based on morphology, pathogenicity, and the analysis of internally transcribed spacer sequences of the nuclear ribosomal DNA. This study has been conducted to investigate the members of the C. acutatum species complex causing rubber leaf disease using a morphological and multi gene approach. For the first time in Sri Lanka, Colletotrichum simmondsii, Colletotrichum laticiphilum, Colletotrichum nymphaeae, and Colletotrichum citri have been identified as causative agents of Colletotrichum leaf disease in addition to C. acutatum s. str. Among them, C. simmondsii has been recognized as the major causative agent.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Sciences, University of Colombo, Colombo, 0003, Sri Lanka. dmhunupolagama@pts.cmb.ac.lk.
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Hunupolagama
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Colombo, Colombo, 0003, Sri Lanka.
authors.forename: N V
authors.initials: NV
authors.lastname: Chandrasekharan
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, Colombo, 0008, Sri Lanka.
authors.forename: W S S
authors.initials: WSS
authors.lastname: Wijesundera
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Sciences, University of Colombo, Colombo, 0003, Sri Lanka.
authors.forename: H S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Kathriarachchi
authors.affiliation: Rubber Research Institute of Sri Lanka, Dartonfield, Agalawaththa, Sri Lanka.
authors.forename: T H P S
authors.initials: THPS
authors.lastname: Fernando
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Sciences, University of Colombo, Colombo, 0003, Sri Lanka.
authors.forename: R L C
authors.initials: RLC
authors.lastname: Wijesundera
mesh_terms: D020231:Colletotrichum / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004271:DNA, Fungal / Q000235:genetics; D021903:DNA, Ribosomal Spacer / Q000235:genetics; D024581:Glyceraldehyde-3-Phosphate Dehydrogenase (Phosphorylating) / Q000235:genetics; D028482:Hevea / Q000382:microbiology*; D010802:Phylogeny; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000382:microbiology; D013188:Sri Lanka; D014404:Tubulin / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D004271:DNA, Fungal; D021903:DNA, Ribosomal Spacer; D014404:Tubulin; D024581:Glyceraldehyde-3-Phosphate Dehydrogenase (Phosphorylating)
keywords: Anthracnose; Colletotrichum; Rubber; Sri Lanka