Characterization of fungal communities associated with the lenticel-like damage of avocado cv. Hass in two geographical locations in Colombia

Different postharvest diseases and disorders affect avocado cv. Hass fruits. Among them, lenticel-like damages, which compromise the fruit epidermis without affecting the mesocarp, are important causes of fruit rejection worldwide. However, lenticel-like damage etiology is still unclear. In order to better comprehend this disorder, we evaluated the level of the lenticel-like damage from avocado cv. Hass fruits from two different growing regions in Colombia at different harvest seasons. We also characterized the fungal microbial communities associated with these fruits by Illumina MiSeq. We found that the level of the lenticel-like damage varies with the farm and with the harvest season, and increases during cold storage. Fungal communities and enriched taxa associated with avocado cv. Hass fruits were influenced by the farm and the lenticel-like damage level. Regardless of the farm, Ascomycetes were increased by four-fold compared to Basidiomycetes in severely damaged fruits, while in mild damage damaged fruits the ratio was equal. In particular, severely damaged fruits from the more affected farm (El Sinaí) were enriched in Colletotrichum and Pseudocercospora, while mild damage fruits from the less affected farm (La Escondida) include Cladosporium, Vishniacozyma, Meira, and Symmetrospora. Altogether, our results suggests that fungal communities of avocado cv. Hass exocarps influence the lenticel-like damage development and might be responsible for the damage differences between farms.