CELL-WALL DEGRADATION IN PEACH FRUIT INFECTED BY RHIZOPUS STOLONIFER: ITS ROLE IN PATHOGENESIS

The soft rot pathogen Rhizopus stolonifer secrete a high amount of polygalacturonase and endoglucanase in infected fruit. Those enzymes enable the pathogen to decay peach fruit of various cultivars picked at different states of maturity. Variations in the amount of enzymes secreted do not modify the pathogenicity of R. stolonifer. But Cell wall of unripe peach fruit is likely to hinder growth of the pathogen during pathogenesis.