Epitypification of Cercospora coffeicola and its involvement with two different symptoms on coffee leaves in Brazil

Cercospora coffeicola is the causal agent of brown eye spot, an important disease of coffee (Coffea arabica) in Brazil. However, atypical symptom as darker and larger lesions, named black spot, has been reported in field. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that the causal agent of black spot belongs to the same species pathogenic to brown eye spot. Nineteen strains obtained from diseased coffee found in the five largest coffee-producing states of Brazil were characterized by a combination of molecular phylogenic methods, using a multi-locus approach (internal transcribed spacer regions and intervening 5.8S nrRNAs, actin, calmodulin, histone H3, and translation elongation factor 1-alpha), analyses of morphological markers and pathogenicity. Strains from brown eye spot and black spot disease on coffee leaves formed a clade with C. coffeicola strain from Japan. All strains showed same morphological characteristics and caused brown eye spot symptoms in greenhouse. These results confirm that the species associated with brown eye spot and black spot disease on coffee leaves is C. coffeicola. Additionally, an epitype is proposed for C. coffeicola.

Automated summary

The study confirmed that the causal agent of brown eye spot and black spot disease on coffee leaves is the same species, C. coffeicola. Strains from diseased coffee plants in Brazil showed similar molecular characteristics and pathogenicity.