Characterization and Haplotype Analysis of Colletotrichum truncatum in Greenhouse Tomato in Turkey

Anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum truncatum (Schwein.) Andrus and W.D. Moore, is an economically important disease of most tropical crops. In recent years, it has been reported that it is also pathogenic on tomatoes. In this study, the infected fruits were obtained from Antalya province in 2019. Isolates were purified by taking single spore. Conidia were measured as 22.5-32.5 × 3.75 µm. DNA isolation was carried out using the CTAB method. After the PCR amplification, the PCR product was run on agarose gel, visualized with a UV transilluminator, and sequenced. Phylogenetic analysis was conducted in MEGA 7. Based on morphological and phylogenetic analysis, the CT isolate was identified as C. truncatum. Pathogenicity tests were carried out using tomato leaves and cherry tomatoes. The inoculated leaves and tomatoes were incubated on a moist filter paper in climate chambers under 27 °C temperature and 12:12 h light-dark conditions. Acervuli were observed on infected tissues on the 7th day of inoculation. Haplotype, the number of haplotypes, and nucleotide diversity were analyzed by DnaSP 6.0 software. 8 haplotypes were determined according to the ITS sequence of 46 C. truncatum isolates from different countries. The median-joining network analysis of haplotypes was drawn using the NETWORK 10 program. It was determined that the CT isolate reported with this study from Turkey and the other reference isolates reported on tomatoes were in the H1 which is the most common haplotype.