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Bamboo snout moths (Lepidoptera, Crambidae) comprise the four species: Eumorphobotys obscuralis, Circobotys aurealis, Demobotys pervulgalis, and Crypsiptya coclesalis. These economically important insect pests of bamboo are widely distributed in tropical and subtropical regions. The lack of precise mitochondrial genetic data has impeded the development of effective identification techniques, accurate classification strategies, and targeted prevention and treatment strategies. In this study, we obtained the complete mitochondrial genome sequences of four bamboo snout moth species using high‐throughput sequencing. The mitogenomes were 15,103–15,349 bp in length and contained 13 protein‐coding genes, 22 transfer RNA genes (tRNAs), two ribosomal RNA genes (rRNAs), and a noncoding region (A + T rich element), consistent with previously studied Crambidae mitogenomes. We reconstructed the phylogenetic relationships among the four species using Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood methods. The moths that fed on bamboo were well clustered in a single clade. Crypsiptya coclesalis was most closely related to D. pervulgalis, while E. obscuralis was most closely related to C. aurealis. The divergence among the main lineages of 97 Lepidoptera species was reconstructed using an uncorrelated relaxed molecular clock. Analyses of the phylogenetic relationships and divergence times showed that the evolution of lepidopteran species has been closely related to that of their hosts. The data support the development of molecular identification techniques for the four species of bamboo snout moth, and our results provide a basis for targeted control strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthracnose, a fungal disease harming fruit trees and crops, poses a threat to agriculture. Traditional chemical pesticides face issues like environmental pollution and resistance. A strategy combining low-toxicity chemicals with biopesticides is proposed to enhance disease control while reducing chemical use. Our study found that mixing validamycin A (VMA) and Bacillus velezensis TCS001 effectively controlled anthracnose in Camellia oleifera. The combination increased antifungal efficacy by 65.62% over VMA alone and 18.83% over TCS001 alone. It caused pathogen deformities and loss of pathogenicity. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that the mix affected the pathogen's metabolism and redox processes, particularly impacting cellular membrane functions and inducing apoptosis via glycolysis/gluconeogenesis. In vivo tests showed the treatment activated C. oleifera's disease resistance, with a 161.72% increase in polyphenol oxidase concentration in treated plants. This research offers insights into VMA and TCS001's mechanisms against anthracnose, supporting sustainable forestry and national edible oil security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Camellia japonica is an attractive flowering woody plant with great ornamental and medicinal value in China. However, typical anthracnose lesions on the leaves are usually observed in summer in Zhejiang province. A number of 100 trees have been investigated with over 70% of leaf disease incidence. The symptom initially develops from the tip or edge of the leaf and dark green infected spots appear. The diseased spots expand and become yellow brown. The lesions are covered with abundant, small and black acervuli at the center with yellow edges. The diseased leaves become brittle, cracked, and finally fall off. Sixty leaves with typical anthracnose symptoms were sampled from gardens in Lin'an, Zhejiang province. The diseased tissues were cut into pieces and incubated in moist chambers at 25°C. The spore mass was collected using a sterile needle under dissection microscope and put on 2% malt extract agar (MEA). The cultures were incubated at 25°C in the dark for one week. Thirty single spore cultures were obtained and grown on 2% MEA at 25°C for morphological characterization. White aerial mycelia and black conidiomata with orange masses of conidia developed seven days later. Conidia are cylindrical in shape, 12-19 μm, mean lengths ranging from 15.5 ± 1.0 to 16.0 ± 1.2 μm. The morphological characteristics are consistent with those of Colletotrichum species. DNA was extracted from three selected isolates (HT-71, J-5, J-20) for sequencing. The partial regions of ribosomal internal transcribed spacers (ITS), calmodulin (CAL), glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), actin gene (ACT), beta-tubulin (TUB2), Apn2-Mat1-2 intergenic spacer and partial mating type gene (ApMat), and glutamine synthetase (GS) were amplified as described by Liu et al. (2015). Sequences of the above seven loci for the selected isolates were obtained, and deposited in the GenBank database (MZ014901 to MZ014905, MZ514915 to MZ514922, MZ514925 to MZ514930, MZ497332 and MZ497333). BLAST results indicate they represent Colletotricum siamense. Multi-locus phylogenetic analysis including ex-type of C. siamense (ICMP18578=CBS130417) and related species was conducted using Maximum Likelihood method, and C. acutatum (CBS 112996) served as the outgroup. The three obtained isolates clustered with the ex-type isolate of C. siamense. Eight leaves on two Camellia plants were inoculated to confirm the pathogenicity in the field. The leaves were surface sprayed with 75% ethanol and dried with sterilized filter paper. The leaves were inoculated using the wound/drop inoculation method: an aliquot of 10 μL of spore suspension (1.0 × 106 conidia per mL) was dropped on the left side of a leaf after wounding once by pin-pricking with a sterilized needle. The sterile water was dropped on the right side of the same leaf in parallel as control. The initial symptoms were observed seven days later, all inoculated leaves developed lesions similar to those observed in the field, and no symptoms observed in the control. The fungus was successfully re-isolated only from lesions inoculated with spore suspension exhibiting morphological characteristics resembling those in C. siamense, and further confirmed with sequence data. To our knowledge, this represents the first report of anthracnose on C. japonica caused by C. siamense worldwide. Confirmation of this pathogen in the region will be helpful for the disease management on C. japonica, considering previous report of C. camelliae-japonicae on the same host. References Fu, M., et al. 2019. Persoonia. 42: 1. https://doi.org/10.3767/persoonia.2019.42.01 Guarnaccia, V., et al. 2017. Persoonia. 39: 32. https://doi.org/10.3767/persoonia.2017.39.02 Hou, L. W., et al. 2016. Mycosphere. 7: 1111. Doi 10.5943/mycosphere/si/2c/4 Liu, F., et al. 2015. Persoonia. 35: 63. http://dx.doi.org/10.3767/003158515X687597 Vieira, A. D. S., et al. 2019. Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2019.106694.