Morphological and Genetic Characterization of Penicillium spp. associated with post - harvest decay of fruits. (oral)

Post-harvest decay, caused by Penicillium spp. is a serious problem of fruits worldwide. Morphological characteristics and molecular markers were used to characterize 22 Penicillium isolates from apples, 18 isolates from pears, 60 from oranges and 18 from grapes and 23reference isolates representing related Penicillium spp. to assess their diversity and resolve their taxonomy. Based on morphological and physiological characteristics, the isolates were grouped as identical or very similar to P. digitatum, P. italicum, P. ulaiense or very similar to P. crustosum, P. expansum, P. solitum and unidentified Penicillium spp. Based on sequence comparisons of ITS region, variable site were presented within and among the species, but there variation were not correlated with the species. Cluster analyses of AP-PCR fragment patterns using UP and L45 primer and the -tubulin gene sequence, the Penicillium species were segregated into distinct groups. Particularly. the -tubulin partial sequence data provided support for species concepts based on morphological and physiological characteristics.