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Bacterial blotch, a disease of white button mushrooms, may be harder to manage because it is associated with a community of bacteria, not just one suspected pathogen. A University of Florida study reported more than 17 bacterial species associated with affected mushrooms. That finding offers a plausible explanation for why control efforts can be inconsistent, but it does not prove that every species independently causes the disease or explain the failure of any specific treatment.
What is bacterial blotch?
Bacterial blotch affects white button mushrooms, producing brown or yellow blemishes that make them less marketable. The University of Florida says the disease can also reduce yields and shorten shelf life. Symptoms may not become apparent until mushrooms have been shipped or purchased, which can make the problem difficult to catch early.
The disease has challenged the mushroom industry for about a century. “For years, the industry has struggled with treatments that provide inconsistent results against bacterial blotch,” said Samuel Martins, co-author and assistant professor in the UF/IFAS Department of Plant Pathology.
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What causes bacterial blotch in white button mushrooms?
Researchers led by University of Florida doctoral student Sameerika Mudiyanselage found that affected mushrooms were associated with more than 17 species of pathogenic bacteria. “We found more than 17 different species of pathogenic bacteria associated with the disease,” Mudiyanselage said.
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The finding broadens the picture from a single-pathogen framing to a multispecies bacterial community. Two familiar pathogens remained prominent in the profiles, and researchers also detected a bacterial group not previously linked to the disease. The university’s report does not name these organisms, and its accessible account describes them as associated with blotch rather than establishing that each one independently causes symptoms.
How did researchers investigate the disease?
The team examined affected mushrooms collected from multiple production facilities in the southern United States. They combined DNA sequencing, chemical profiling, and conventional laboratory assays to characterize the bacteria associated with diseased mushrooms. The University of Florida account identifies Mudiyanselage as lead author and Martins as co-author.
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The study is listed as “Genomic insights into a multispecies bacterial pathogen complex driving bacterial blotch in white button mushrooms,” by Sameerika D. Mudiyanselage, Michelle Lee, Jose C. Huguet-Tapia, Romina Gazis, and Samuel J. Martins, in Microbiological Research 309 (2026), article 128532, DOI 10.1016/j.micres.2026.128532. The University of Florida report summarizes the study and its findings.
Why might treatments produce inconsistent results?
If more than one bacterial species is associated with blotch, a management approach aimed at a single organism may not address the full bacterial community. That makes broader detection and control a reasonable priority for future work. The study’s reported finding, however, does not experimentally show that this is why particular treatments have failed; the multispecies result is a plausible explanation, not a demonstrated account of every inconsistent outcome.
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Recognizing a broader set of bacteria could help researchers develop diagnostics that detect more of the organisms associated with disease. Mudiyanselage said, “We hope that expanding our research will lead to the development of better diagnostics and more effective treatments to address the full group of disease-causing bacteria in white button mushrooms.”
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The University of Florida says researchers are investigating essential oils, beneficial microorganisms, and other biological products as possible management approaches. These are under study, not established treatments: further work is needed to determine how they perform in real growing conditions. The report does not provide a quantified treatment effect or recommend a specific product.
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UF/IFAS also describes a separate $7 million USDA grant involving Penn State, the University of Delaware, and UF/IFAS for related diagnostics and sustainable-solutions work. That grant is contextual funding for related research, not the reported value of the bacterial-blotch study.
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