Mycoflora of Annona muricata L. (Soursop) Fruits

Annona muricata L. (soursop) fruits are

susceptible to fungal pathogens especially during post-
harvest handling and storage and this leads to low fruit

quality. In this study, we identified some fungi associated
with soursop fruits using molecular tools. The internal
transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the fungal 16S rRNA
gene was amplified using a Polymerase Chain Reaction
(PCR), and the reaction product was then sequenced to
determine the identity of the fungal species. The isolated
fungi were identified by a blast search on the National
Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) as
Lasiodiplodia pseudotheobromae, Aspergillus niger and
Aspergillus homomorphus. An evolutionary tree was
constructed by the composite likelihood method to
display sequence relationship and common ancestries.
The isolated fungal pathogens are capable of producing
harmful mycotoxins. The occurrence of these fungi can
lead to huge economic losses, thereby posing a potential
threat to soursop fruits in Nigeria.