Disease Resistance/Pathology/Fusarium

Abstract

The fungal genus Fusarium includes some of the most important plant pathogens that have devastating effects on crop yields and quality. The genus is also known by its teleomorphs Nectria and Gibberella , and individual species have a wide variety of hosts and infection strategies. The most important plant pathogens are found in four species, which are the subjects of the current article. Fusarium graminearum and F. culmorum cause head blight (scab) diseases in cereal crops and ear rot in maize. F. verticillioides ( F. moniliforme ), causes kernel and ear rots in maize. All three species produce toxins (trichothecenes or fumonisins) that make infected grain unsafe for human consumption and feeding to animals. F. oxysporum causes vascular wilts in more than 100 crops, including tomato, potato, sugarcane, common bean, palms, and bananas. The genomes of F. oxysporum, F. graminearum , and F. verticillioides have been sequenced and tools for transforming them with genes such as the green fluorescent protein (GFP) and to produce insertion mutants have been developed. F. oxysporum, F. graminearum , and F. culmorum infect Arabidopsis thaliana , which has facilitated investigations of plant–pathogen interactions and the identification of resistance genes in plants. Examples of biotechnological approaches to increase disease resistance to Fusarium pathogens in crops are discussed, including in vitro selection, marker-assisted selection (MAS), transgenesis, and biological control.