Pleosporales » Leptosphaeriaceae » Alternaria

Alternaria tenuis

Alternaria tenuis Nees, Syst. Pilze (Würzburg): 72 (1816) [1816-17].

           Index Fungorum number: IF 211928; Facesoffungi number: FoF 02152 , Fig. 1

Description: see Woudenberg et al. (2013); Ariyawansa et al. (2015); Li et al. (2022).

Material examined: see Woudenberg et al. (2013); Ariyawansa et al. (2015); Li et al. (2022).

 

 

Fig. 1. Alternaria species. a. Alternaria alternata (MFLU 21-0302). b. A. arctoseptata (MFLU 21-0308). c. A. baoshanensis (MFLU 21-0296). d. A. phytolaccae (MFLU 21-0314). eg. A. breviconidiophora (MFLU 21-0317). h. A. doliconidium (MFLU 21-0294). i. A. ellipsoconidia (MFLU 21-0307). j. A. brevirostra (MFLU 21-0312). k. A. macroconidia (MFLU 21-0301). lm. A. minimispora (MFLU 21-0295). n. A. eupatoriicola (MFLU 21-0319). o. A. lathyri (MFLU 21-0297). p–q. A. macilenta (MFLU 21-0305). r. A. obpyriconidia (MFLU 21-0300). s. A. falcate (MFLU 21-0306). t. A. muriformispora (MFLU 21-0309). u. A. oblongoellipsoidea (MFLU 21-0310). v. A. ovoidea (MFLU 21-0298). w. A. orobanche (MFLU 21-0303). xy. A. salicicola (MFLU 21-0320). z. A. arundinis (MFLU 21-0313). α. A. phragmiticola (MFLU 21-0316). β. A. torilis (MFLU 21-0299). γ. A. pseudoinfectoriae (MFLU 21-0311). δ. A. rostroconidia (MFLU 21-0318). ε. A. nodulariconidiophora (MFLU 21-0315). Scale bars: a–d, h–k, n, r–v, α–ε = 20 µm, o–q, lm, xz = 10 µm, eg = 5 µm.

 

Importance and distribution

Alternaria is useful for pharmaceutical and medical industry especially in cancer treatment as several alternaria toxins have mutagenic, oestrogenic and clastogenic properties by inhibiting the cell proliferation (Meena et al. 2019). Alternaria produces numerous compounds such as Alternaric acid, alternariol (AOH), alternariol 9-monomethyl ether (AME), Alternuene (ALT), alterotoxin (ATX) I, II, III, Altertoxin-I, Altertoxin-II, Altertoxin-III, brefeldin A (dehydro), curvularin, tentoxin (TEN), tenuazonic acid (TeA), zinniol, several HSTs such as AK-, AF-, ACT-, AM-, AAL- and ACR-toxin, maculosin, destruxin A, B (Meena et al. 2019). Alternaria mycotoxin is divided into five classes namely dibenzopyrone derivatives, comprising altenuene (ALT), alternariol (AOH), alternariol monomethyl ether (AME), secondly tetramic acid derivatives, consisting tenuazonic acid (TeA) and iso-tenuazonic acid (iso-TeA), thirdly perylene derived, altertoxins I, II, and III (ATX-I, ATX-II, and ATX-III), fourthly A. alternata f. sp. lycopersici produces TA1, TA2, TB1, and TB2 toxin (AAL TA1, TA2, TB1, and TB2) and other chemicals such as tentoxin (TEN), iso-tentoxin (iso-TEN) and dihydrotentoxin (DHT), which are cyclic tetrapeptide (Ostry 2008; Meena et al. 2019). Alternariol, alternariol monomethyl ether and tenuazonic acid naturally occur in food such as in apples (Malus sp.), apple products, mandarins (Rutaceae), olives (Oleaceae) and other citrus fruit, pepper (Piperaceae) and edible oils (Topi et al. 2018). Wang et al. (2019) reported benzo-γ-pyrone derivative, amide-type, dibenzo-α-pyrone derivatives from Alternaria alternata exhibited activities against tumour cell lines.

 

There are 694 Alternaria epithets in Index Fungorum (2022), but many species have been transferred to other genera such as Alternaria, Alternariaster, Bipolaris, Chalastospora, Peyronelia, Pithomyces, Puccinia, Pyrenophora, Sirosporium, Stemphylium and Teretispora. Alternaria has a very wide host range and is cosmopolitan in distribution Alternaria is a genus with very high diversity but with taxonomic pitfalls. Alternaria comprises species complexes and is in need of on-going revision as several species may be synonyms and might belong to other genera. Alternaria species have pathogenic, saprophytic or endophytic lifestyle. Alternaria species causes several diseases such as early blight in tomato and potato (Solanaceae), stem canker in tomato, leaf blight in carrot (Apiaceae) and black point disease in wheat kernels (Poaceae). Some Alternaria toxins such as tenuazonic acid are toxic to animals such as chicken, dogs, and mice (Ostry 2008).

 

References

Ariyawansa HA, Hyde KD, Jayasiri SC, Buyck B et al. 2015 – Fungal diversity notes 111–252– taxonomic and phylogenetic contributions to fungal taxa. Fungal Diversity 75, 27–274.

Dettman JR, Eggertson Q. 2021 – Phylogenomic analyses of Alternaria section Alternaria: A high-resolution, genome-wide study of lineage sorting and gene tree discordance. Mycologia 113, 1218–1232. doi: 10.1080/00275514.2021.1950456

Dini-Andreote F, Pietrobon VC, Andreote FD, Romão AS, Spósito MB, Araújo WL. 2009 – Genetic variability of Brazilian isolates of Alternaria alternata detected by AFLP and RAPD techniques. Brazilian Journal of Microbiology: [publication of the Brazilian Society for Microbiology] 40(3), 670–677. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1517-838220090003000032

García-Coronado H, Troncoso-Rojas R, Tiznado-Hernández ME, de la Cruz Otero MdC, Díaz-Camacho SP, Báez-Flores ME. 2015 – Analysis of a suppressive subtractive hybridization library of Alternaria alternata resistant to 2-propenyl isothiocyanate. Electronic Journal of Biotechnology 18(4), 320–326. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejbt.2015.06.002

Lawrence DP, Gannibal PB, Peever TL, Pryor BM. 2013 – The sections of Alternaria: formalizing species-group concepts. Mycologia 105, 530–546.

Li J, Phookamsak R, Jiang H, Bhat DJ et al. 2022 – Additions to the Inventory of the Genus Alternaria Section Alternaria (Pleosporaceae, Pleosporales) in Italy. Journal of fungi (Basel, Switzerland) 8(9), 898. https://doi.org/10.3390/jof8090898

Marin-Felix Y, Hernández-Restrepo M, Iturrieta-González I, García D et al. 2019 – Genera of phytopathogenic fungi: GOPHY 3. Studies in Mycology 94, 1–124.

Meena M, Samal S. 2019 – Alternaria host-specific (HSTs) toxins: an overview of chemical characterization, target sites, regulation and their toxic effects. Toxicology Reports 6, 745–758.

Ostry V. 2008 – Alternaria mycotoxins: An overview of chemical characterization, producers, toxicity, analysis and occurrence in foodstuffs. World Mycotoxin Journal 1, 175–188.

Simmons EG. 1994 – Alternaria themes and variations. Mycotaxon 50, 219–270. 

Simmons EG. 1995 – Alternaria themes and variations. Mycotaxon 55, 55–163.

Simmons EG. 1992 – Alternaria taxonomy: current status, viewpoint, challenge In: Chelkowski J. and Visconti A. (eds.). Alternaria: Biology, Plant Diseases and Metabolites. Elsevier Science Publishers, Amsterdam, the Netherlands: pp. 1–35. 

Simmons EG. 2007 – Alternaria: an identification manual. CBS Fungal Biodiversity Centre, Utrecht.

Stewart JE, Andrew M, Bao X, Chilvers MI, Carris LM, Peever TL. 2013 – Development of sequence characterized amplified genomic regions (SCAR) for fungal systematics: proof of principle using Alternaria, Ascochyta and Tilletia. Mycologia 105(4), 1077–1086.

Topi D, Tavcar-Kalcher G, Vrtač K, Babic J, Jakovac-Strajn B. 2018 – Alternaria mycotoxins in grains from Albania: Alternariol, alternariol monomethyl ether, tenuazonic acid and tentoxin. World Mycotoxin Journal 12, 1–12.

Wang M, Fu H, Shen XX, Ruan R, Rokas A, Li H. 2019 – Genomic features and evolution of the conditionally dispensable chromosome in the tangerine pathotype of Alternaria alternata. Molecular Plant Pathology 20, 1425–1438. https://doi.org/10.1111/mpp.12848

Woudenberg JH, Seidl MF, Groenewald JZ, de Vries M, Stielow JB, Thomma BP, Crous PW. 2015 – Alternaria section Alternaria: Species, formae speciales or pathotypes? Studies in Mycology 82, 1–21. doi: 10.1016/j.simyco.2015.07.001.

Woudenberg JHC, Groenewald JZ, Binder M, Crous PW. 2013 – Alternaria redefined. Studies in Mycology 75, 171–212.

Zhang TY, Zhang JZ, Chen WQ, Zhang M, Sun GY, Gao MX. 2003 – Flora Fungorum Sinicorum, 16: Alternaria. BeiJing: Science Press.

 

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