Exploring the Citrus Sour Rot pathogen: biochemical aspects, virulence factors, and strategies for disease management - a review

Citriculture is an important economic activity worldwide and for decades, this sector has been responsible for creating job opportunities. Currently, Brazil is the largest orange producer in the world, which contributes to the country's economy. However, citrus production has been facing several issues that compromise the quality of the fruits. For instance, several postharvest diseases occur during storage and transportation, directly harming product marketing. Green mold, blue mold, and sour rot are considered the most common postharvest citrus diseases. Citrus sour rot is less common; however, the disease can lead to a significant loss in high rainfall seasons. The fungus Geotrichum candidum is the causal agent of sour rot and its chemical and biochemical infection strategies are still little explored in citrus fruits. Several conventional control methods, including the application of fungicides, aim to contain the disease proliferation, but most of the commercially available fungicides are not efficient against sour rot. For this reason, other strategies have been studied for disease control, such as chemicals (e. g. essential oils or other natural products), biological agents used as biocontrol, and physical strategies. Despite its importance, few reviews have focused on sour rot disease. Here, we summarize the biochemical aspects of G. candidum, as well as the metabolites produced by this phytopathogen, the known virulence factors, and advances for disease management.