Field isolated Mycoviruses infecting mango’s anthracnose disease caused by Colletotrichum Species.

Colletotrichum sp. is an important plant pathogenic fungus causing anthracnose disease in plants worldwide and is responsible for significant economic losses. In this study, mango pathogenic fungi were isolated and screened for mycoviruses. From 255 field isolate pathogenic fungi, Colletotrichum sp. was the most commonly isolated species (89 isolates, 34.90%). Among them, 18 isolates (20.22%) were found harboring double stranded RNA (dsRNA) of mycoviruses and divided into 3 types of dsRNA profile. Estimated size of dsRNA mycoviruses were varied from 1-4 kb. Ssa-44 strain, isolated from Colletotrichum sp., contains three dsRNA genomes size ranging between 1.5-3.5 kbp. Ssa-44 strain showed the reduction of mycelia growth and sporulation in Colletotrichum sp. compared to Isogenic virus free, Ssa-44#18. This finding suggests the present of mycoviruses in various types of fungal isolates. Moreover, biological control of phytopathogenic fungi using mycovirus as a potential candidate can be a subject of further investigation.