Quantifying the Effects of a G137S Substitution in the Cytochrome bc1 of Venturia effusa on Azoxystrobin Sensitivity Using a Detached Leaf Assay.

The quinone outside inhibitor (QoI) fungicides are known for their inherently high resistance risk owing to substitutions in amino acid residues 129, 137, or 143 of the cytochrome b gene of phytopathogens. In Venturia effusa, cause of pecan scab, an intron adjacent to position 143 likely reduces this risk; however, the effects of a recently discovered substitution at position 137 (G137S) are unknown. Traditional in vitro assays are not useful for determining sensitivity of isolates of V. effusa to the QoI fungicides, owing to the fungitoxic effects of required alternative oxidase inhibitors. A detached leaf assay was developed to quantify the sensitivity of 59 isolates to azoxystrobin: 45 wild-type isolates and 14 carrying G137S. Isolate EC50 values ranged from <0.0001 to 0.3047 µg/ml; EC50 values for wild-type isolates ranged from <0.0001 to 0.2007 µg/ml (median 0.0023 µg/ml), whereas EC50 values for G137S isolates ranged from 0.0033 to 0.3047 µg/ml (median 0.0178 µg/ml). The median EC50 value for G137S isolates was significantly greater than that of the wild-type isolates; however, there was overlap between the two groups. This is the first report of sensitivity of V. effusa isolates to a QoI fungicide and evidence of G137S as a potential mechanism of partial resistance. However, although a complete control failure is unlikely, the impact of this substitution on QoI efficacy in Georgia pecan orchards remains to be determined.