The disease symptoms recognized as ‘Anthracnose’ are caused by Colletotrichum spp. and lead to large-scale strawberry (Fragaria×ananassa Duchesne) losses worldwide in terms of both quality and production. Little is known regarding the mechanisms underlying the genetic variations in the strawberry–Colletotrichum spp. interaction. In this work, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides (C. gloeosporioides) infection was characterized in two varieties exhibiting different susceptibilities, and the involvement of salicylic acid (SA) was examined. Light microscopic observation showed that C. gloeosporioides conidia germinated earlier and faster on the leaf surface of the susceptible cultivar compared with the less-susceptible cultivar. Several PR genes were differentially expressed, with higher-amplitude changes observed in the less-susceptible cultivar. The less-susceptible cultivar contained a higher level of basal SA, and the SA levels increased rapidly upon infection, followed by a sharp decrease before the necrotrophic phase. External SA pretreatment reduced susceptibility and elevated the internal SA levels in both varieties, which were sharply reduced in the susceptible cultivar upon inoculation. The less-susceptible cultivar also displayed a more sensitive and marked increase in the transcripts of NB-LRR genes to C. gloeosporioides, and SA pretreatment differentially induced transcript accumulation in the two varieties during infection. Furthermore, SA directly inhibited the germination of C. gloeosporioides conidia; NB-LRR transcript accumulation in response to SA pretreatment was both dose- and cultivar-dependent. The results demonstrate that the less-susceptible cultivar showed reduced conidia germination. The contribution of SA might involve microbial isolate-specific sensitivity to SA, cultivar/tissue-specific SA homeostasis and signaling, and the sensitivity of R genes and the related defense network to SA and pathogens.

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