AUTHOR=González-Domínguez Elisa , Armengol Josep , Rossi Vittorio 

TITLE=Biology and Epidemiology of Venturia Species Affecting Fruit Crops: A Review

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=8

YEAR=2017

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2017.01496

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2017.01496

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>The fungal genus <italic>Venturia</italic> Sacc. (anamorph <italic>Fusicladium</italic> Bonord.) includes plant pathogens that cause substantial economic damage to fruit crops worldwide. Although <italic>Venturia inaequalis</italic> is considered a model species in plant pathology, other <italic>Venturia</italic> spp. also cause scab on other fruit trees. Relative to the substantial research that has been conducted on <italic>V. inaequalis</italic> and apple scab, little research has been conducted on <italic>Venturia</italic> spp. affecting other fruit trees. In this review, the main characteristics of plant-pathogenic species of <italic>Venturia</italic> are discussed with special attention to <italic>V. inaequalis</italic> affecting apple, <italic>V. pyrina</italic> affecting European pear, <italic>V. nashicola</italic> affecting Asian pear, <italic>V. carpophila</italic> affecting peach and almond, <italic>Fusicladium oleagineum</italic> affecting olive, <italic>F. effusum</italic> affecting pecan, and <italic>F. eriobotryae</italic> affecting loquat. This review has two main objectives: (i) to identify the main gaps in our knowledge regarding the biology and epidemiology of <italic>Venturia</italic> spp. affecting fruit trees; and (ii) to identify similarities and differences among these <italic>Venturia</italic> spp. in order to improve disease management. A thorough review has been conducted of studies regarding the phylogenetic relationships, host ranges, biologies, and epidemiologies of <italic>Venturia</italic> spp. A multiple correspondence analysis (CA) has also been performed on the main epidemiological components of these <italic>Venturia</italic> spp. CA separated the <italic>Venturia</italic> spp. into two main groups, according to their epidemiological behavior: the first group included <italic>V. inaequalis, V. pyrina, V. nashicola</italic>, and <italic>V. carpophila</italic>, the second <italic>F. oleagineum</italic> and <italic>F. eriobotryae</italic>, with <italic>F. effusum</italic> having an intermediate position. This review shows that <italic>Venturia</italic> spp. affecting fruit trees are highly host-specific, and that important gaps in understanding the life cycle exist for some species, including <italic>V. pyrina</italic>; gaps include pseudothecia formation, ascospore and conidia germination, and mycelial growth. Considering the epidemiological information reviewed, this paper shows that the use of Mills tables to predict infection periods should be avoided for <italic>Venturia</italic> spp. other than <italic>V. inaequalis</italic>.</p>