Virulence and genetic diversity of Colletotrichum lindemuthianum and resistance of local common bean germplasm to anthracnose in Pernambuco State, Brazil

Anthracnose is a severe disease of common bean that, under favorable conditions, can cause a 100% yield loss. For effective resistance breeding, the virulence and genetic variability of the causal pathogen, Colletotrichum lindemuthianum , must be understood and the emergence of new races monitored to ensure the development of broad-spectrum, durable resistance. In the present study, 28 isolates of C. lindemuthianum collected in Pernambuco, Brazil, were characterized: i) for their pathogenicity on a differential common bean cultivar set, ii) for their genetic variability, based on the Internally Transcribed Spacer (ITS) region sequences, and iii) for their ability to cause anthracnose on a selection of 20 common bean accessions. The 12 differential cultivars were inoculated with the 28 isolates, identifying 16 races of C. lindemuthianum : 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 64, 65, 72, 73, 75, 81, 85, 89, 117, 139, and 331 . Except for race 81, all were reported for the first time in Pernambuco; this was the first report of race 139 in Brazil and of race 331 in the world. The ITS region sequence of 17 isolates revealed the presence of 27 SNPs, four SNPs in the ITS 1 region, and 23 SNPs in the ITS 2 region. Of the 20 common bean accessions screened for resistance with the 16 isolates of C. lindemuthianum , the Andean accessions ‘Praia’ and ‘Africano 4’ were the most resistant. The broad resistance detected in some common bean accessions indicates their utility as potential sources of resistance to C. lindemuthianum , particularly in areas where Mesoamerican beans and Mesoamerican races of the pathogen are predominant.