Plant-Fungal Pathogen Interaction

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Protection and Biotic Interactions".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 December 2020) | Viewed by 10026

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Guest Editor
Department of Sciences of Agriculture, Food and Environment (SAFE), University of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, Italy
Interests: mycologia; fungal genetics; fungal taxonomy; plant pathology; wood pathogens; horticultural pathogens; fungal biodiversity; antagonistic microrganisms; crop protection
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Department of Agriculture, Food, Natural resources and Engineering (DAFNE), University of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, Italy
Interests: agricultural and biological sciences; plant science; mycology; plant disease caused by fungi; fungal taxonomy; phylogenetic analyses
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Research on the interactions between plants and phytopathogenic fungi are very interesting because the knowledge of specific mechanisms allow us to obtain findings that contribute to the development of new strategies of plant and crop protection. Scientific insights into parasitization strategies employed by the phytopathogenic fungi, the action of phytotoxins, the compatibility of pathogens with host plants and the basic resistance of non-host plants, as well as the cultivar-specific resistance of host plants, represent important aspects of fungal pathogen–host interactions. Studies carried out on the abilities of specific biological compounds and/or antagonistic microorganisms to improve the defense response from plants, fruits, and vegetables such as food commodities is a crucial topic to implement and develop new protection means for consumer benefit.

Therefore, in this Special Issue, articles (original research papers, perspectives, hypotheses, opinions, reviews, modeling approaches, and methods) that focus on plant–fungal pathogen interactions and the kinds of mechanisms carried out are welcome.

Dr. Antonia Carlucci
Dr. Maria Luisa Raimondo
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • plant–fungal pathogen interaction
  • fungal and bacterial antagonism
  • fungal and bacterial pathogens
  • phytotoxins
  • parasitization

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 7510 KiB  
Article
Genome-Wide Characterization of Lectin Receptor Kinases in Saccharum spontaneum L. and Their Responses to Stagonospora tainanensis Infection
by Zhoutao Wang, Hui Ren, Fu Xu, Guilong Lu, Wei Cheng, Youxiong Que and Liping Xu
Plants 2021, 10(2), 322; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/plants10020322 - 08 Feb 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1973
Abstract
Sugarcane is an important sugar and bioenergy ethanol crop, and the hyperploidy has led to stagnant progress in sugarcane genome decipherment, which also hindered the genome-wide analyses of versatile lectin receptor kinases (LecRKs). The published genome of Saccharum spontaneum, one of the [...] Read more.
Sugarcane is an important sugar and bioenergy ethanol crop, and the hyperploidy has led to stagnant progress in sugarcane genome decipherment, which also hindered the genome-wide analyses of versatile lectin receptor kinases (LecRKs). The published genome of Saccharum spontaneum, one of the two sugarcane ancestor species, enables us to study the characterization of LecRKs and their responses to sugarcane leaf blight (SLB) triggered by Stagonospora tainanensis. A total of 429 allelic and non-allelic LecRKs, which were classified into evolved independently three types according to signal domains and phylogeny, were identified based on the genome. Regarding those closely related LecRKs in the phylogenetic tree, their motifs and exon architectures of representative L- and G-types were similar or identical. LecRKs showed an unequal distribution on chromosomes and more G-type tandem repeats may come from the gene expansion. Comparing the differentially expressed LecRKs (DELs) in response to SLB in sugarcane hybrid and ancestor species S. spontaneum, we found that the DEL number in the shared gene sets was highly variable among each sugarcane accession, which indicated that the expression dynamics of LecRKs in response to SLB were quite different between hybrids and particularly between sugarcane hybrid and S. spontaneum. In addition, C-type LecRKs may participate in metabolic processes of plant–pathogen interaction, mainly including pathogenicity and plant resistance, indicating their putative roles in sugarcane responses to SLB infection. The present study provides a basic reference and global insight into the further study and utilization of LecRKs in plants. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant-Fungal Pathogen Interaction)
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11 pages, 2289 KiB  
Article
Constitutive Expression of Arabidopsis Senescence Associated Gene 101 in Brachypodium distachyon Enhances Resistance to Puccinia brachypodii and Magnaporthe oryzae
by Ning Wang, Na Song, Zejun Tang, Xiaojie Wang, Zhensheng Kang, Liangying Dai and Bing Wang
Plants 2020, 9(10), 1316; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/plants9101316 - 06 Oct 2020
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2002
Abstract
Brachypodium distachyon, as an effective model of cereal grains, is susceptible to most destructive cereal pathogens. Senescence associated gene 101 (SAG101) has been studied extensively in Arabidopsis. SAG101 is one of the important regulators of plant immunity. However, no [...] Read more.
Brachypodium distachyon, as an effective model of cereal grains, is susceptible to most destructive cereal pathogens. Senescence associated gene 101 (SAG101) has been studied extensively in Arabidopsis. SAG101 is one of the important regulators of plant immunity. However, no homologous genes of AtSAG101 were found in B. distachyon. In this study, the AtSAG101 gene was transformed into B. distachyon. Three transgenic plant lines containing the AtSAG101 gene were confirmed by PCR and GUS gene activity. There were fewer Puccinia brachypodii urediospores in the AtSAG101-overexpressing plants compared to wild type plants. P. brachypodii biomass was obviously decreased in AtSAG101 transgenic plants. The length of infection hyphae and infection unit areas of P. brachypodii were significantly limited in transgenic plants. Moreover, there were small lesions in AtSAG101 transgenic plants challenged by Magnaporthe oryzae. Salicylic acid accumulation was significantly increased, which led to elevated pathogenesis-related gene expression in transgenic B. distachyon inoculated by P. brachypodii or M. oryzae compared to wild type plants. These results were consistent with infected phenotypes. Overexpression of AtSAG101 in B. distachyon caused resistance to M. oryzae and P. brachypodii. These results suggest that AtSAG101 could regulate plant resistance in B. distachyon. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant-Fungal Pathogen Interaction)
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30 pages, 2638 KiB  
Article
The Influence of the Dilution Rate on the Aggressiveness of Inocula and the Expression of Resistance against Fusarium Head Blight in Wheat
by Beata Toth, Andrea Gyorgy, Monika Varga and Akos Mesterhazy
Plants 2020, 9(8), 943; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/plants9080943 - 25 Jul 2020
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2185
Abstract
In previous research, conidium concentrations varying between 10,000 and 1,000,000/mL have not been related to any aggressiveness test. Therefore, two Fusarium graminearum and two Fusarium culmorum isolates were tested in the field on seven genotypes highly differing in resistance at no dilution, and [...] Read more.
In previous research, conidium concentrations varying between 10,000 and 1,000,000/mL have not been related to any aggressiveness test. Therefore, two Fusarium graminearum and two Fusarium culmorum isolates were tested in the field on seven genotypes highly differing in resistance at no dilution, and 1:1, 1:2, 1:4, 1:8, and 1:16 dilutions in two years (2013 and 2014). The isolates showed different aggressiveness, which changed significantly at different dilution rates for disease index (DI), Fusarium-damaged kernels (FDK), and deoxynivalenol (DON). The traits also had diverging responses to the infection. The effect of the dilution could not be forecasted. The genotype ranks also varied. Dilution seldomly increased aggressiveness, but often lower aggressiveness occurred at high variation. The maximum and minimum values varied between 15% and 40% for traits and dilutions. The reductions between the non-diluted and diluted values (total means) for DI ranged from 6% and 33%, for FDK 8.3–37.7%, and for DON 5.8–44.8%. The most sensitive and most important trait was DON. The introduction of the aggressiveness test provides improved regulation compared to the uncontrolled manipulation of the conidium concentration. The use of more isolates significantly increases the credibility of phenotyping in genetic and cultivar registration studies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant-Fungal Pathogen Interaction)
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20 pages, 2955 KiB  
Article
Comparative Analyses of Four Chemicals Used to Control Black Mold Disease in Tomato and Its Effects on Defense Signaling Pathways, Productivity and Quality Traits
by Hoda A. S. El-Garhy, Fayz A. Abdel-Rahman, Abdelhakeem S. Shams, Gamal H. Osman and Mahmoud M. A. Moustafa
Plants 2020, 9(7), 808; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/plants9070808 - 28 Jun 2020
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3357
Abstract
The field application of safe chemical inducers plays a vital role in the stimulation of systematic acquired resistance (SAR) of plants. In this study, the efficacy use of three and six field applications with chitosan, lithovit, and K-thiosulfate at 4 g L−1 [...] Read more.
The field application of safe chemical inducers plays a vital role in the stimulation of systematic acquired resistance (SAR) of plants. In this study, the efficacy use of three and six field applications with chitosan, lithovit, and K-thiosulfate at 4 g L−1 and salicylic acid at 1.5 g L−1 in improving tomato productivity, quality, and modifying the defense signaling pathways to the Alternaria alternata infection was investigated. Salicylic acid was the most effective in vitro where it completely inhibited the growth of Alternaria alternata. The highest yield quantity was recorded with six applications with Chitosan followed by Salicylic acid; also, they were the most effective treatments in controlling the Alternaria alternata infection in tomato fruits. The maximum increase in chitinase and catalase activity of tomato fruits was observed at five days after inoculation, following treatment with six sprays of salicylic acid followed by chitosan. The transcript levels of seven defense-related genes: ethylene-responsive transcription factor 3 (RAP), xyloglucan endotransglucosylase 2 (XET-2), catalytic hydrolase -2 (ACS-2), proteinase inhibitor II (PINII), phenylalanine ammonia-lyase 5 (PAL5), lipoxygenase D (LOXD), and pathogenesis-related protein 1 (PR1) were upregulated in response to all treatments. The highest expression levels of the seven studied genes were recorded in response to six foliar applications with chitosan. Chitosan followed by salicylic acid was the most effective among the tested elicitors in controlling the black mold rot in tomato fruits. In conclusion, pre-harvest chitosan and salicylic acid in vivo application with six sprays could be recommended as effective safe alternatives to fungicides against black mold disease in tomato fruits. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant-Fungal Pathogen Interaction)
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