To select antagonistic yeasts for the control of fruit rot caused by Lasiodiplodia theobromae and anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides in postharvest mango fruit, 307 yeast strains isolated from plant leaves were evaluated for their antagonistic activities against these two fungal pathogens in vitro. Torulaspora indica DMKU-RP31, T. indica DMKU-RP35 and Pseudozyma hubeiensis YE-21 were found to inhibit the growth of L. theobromae whereas only Papiliotrema aspenensis DMKU-SP67 inhibited the growth of C. gloeosporioides. Antagonistic mechanisms of these four antagonistic yeasts in vitro consisted of the production of antifungal volatile organic compounds (VOCs), biofilm formation and siderophore production. T. indica DMKU-RP35 was the most effective strain in controlling fruit rot on postharvest mango fruits. Its action was comparable to that of the fungicide, benomyl, reducing the disease severity by 82.4%, whereas benomyl revealed 87.5% reduction. P. aspenensis DMKU-SP67 reduced anthracnose severity by 94.1%, which was comparable to that of using benomyl (93.9%). The antifungal VOCs produced by these yeast strains also reduced the severity of these diseases on postharvest mango fruits but at lower rates than using yeast cells. Therefore, these antagonistic yeasts have the potential for use as biological control agents for the control of fruit rot and anthracnose diseases.

Pythiosis is an emerging infectious disease caused by the oomycete Pythium insidiosum, affecting humans and animals primarily in subtropical and tropical regions. The pathogen is commonly found in swampy environments, and exposure can lead to diverse clinical manifestations. In humans, ocular and vascular infections predominate, whereas in animals, cutaneous/subcutaneous or gastrointestinal disease is more common. Medical therapy is frequently ineffective, and many patients require extensive surgical intervention. Advanced cases may progress to fatal outcomes. Therefore, early and accurate detection is critical for improving clinical management. This study evaluated a colorimetric loop-mediated isothermal amplification (c-LAMP) assay compared with an established multiplex PCR (m-PCR) assay for the detection of P. insidiosum in clinical specimens from animals with and without pythiosis. When tested on 47 frozen tissue samples, c-LAMP demonstrated superior diagnostic performance, with markedly greater sensitivity (83.9% vs. 41.9%), higher accuracy (78.7% vs. 61.7%), and a shorter turnaround time (65 vs. 180 min). However, c-LAMP yielded five false-positive results, likely due to nonspecific amplification or contamination. Improved sample-handling practices increased the specificity from 68.8% to 93.8%. In contrast, m-PCR showed perfect specificity (100.0%) but substantially lower sensitivity, resulting in a high false-negative rate. In conclusion, these preliminary findings suggest that c-LAMP is a promising rapid screening tool for suspected pythiosis, particularly in resource-limited settings. Nevertheless, confirmatory testing remains necessary for positive or equivocal c-LAMP results.