Research helps explain source of pathogen that causes bitter rot disease

(Penn State) Fungal spores responsible for bitter rot disease, a common and devastating infection in fruit, do not encounter their host plants by chance. Turns out, they have a symbiotic association with the plant, often living inside its leaves. The new way of looking at the fungal pathogen, Colletotrichum fioriniae, as a leaf endophyte -- bacterial or fungal microorganisms that colonize healthy plant tissue -- was the outcome of a two-year study conducted by researchers in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences.

Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - August 14, 2020 Category: Biology Source Type: news