Abstract
Gloeosporium musarum is one of the most important fungi causing rotting of banana fruits during transport and storage1,2. Although the fungus is of greatest commercial concern when acting as a post-harvest wound parasite, it also infects unwounded immature fruit in the field2–4. These early infections do not become manifest until the fruit starts to ripen after harvest; such infections are known as ‘latent infections’. The basis of latency in G. musarum was elucidated by Simmonds3 and Chakravarty5. In a water film on the fruit surface, conidia of G. musarum germinate within 4 h. After elongating for a variable distance, the germ tube swells at the tip to form an appressorium. After 24–72 h, a fine infection hypha grows from the appressorium and pierces the cuticle by mechanical means. No further penetration occurs until the fruit starts to ripen. Simmonds3 concluded that this subcuticular hypha is the form in which the fungus survives its period of latency, which may exceed 5 months in Australia. When the fruit is mature, the subcuticular hypha resumes activity and penetrates the cellulose wall of the epidermis cell; the fungus then spreads through the tissues to cause a typical anthracnose lesion.
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References
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MEREDITH, D. Appressoria of Gloeosporium musarum Cke. and Massee on Banana Fruits. Nature 201, 214–215 (1964). https://doi.org/10.1038/201214a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/201214a0
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