New insights into a polyphageous pathogen
Botrytis cinerea is an ascomycete responsible for gray mould on hundreds of dicot plants. In grapevines, conidia can contaminate leaves or inflorescences, but the fungus develops mainly in the autumn on ripe grapes. The wide variety of symptoms on different organs and plants may suggest that B. cinerea has a large arsenal of weapons to attack its host plants. This necrotrophic ascomycete displays the capacity to kill host cells through the production of toxins, reactive oxygen species and the induction of a plant-produced oxidative burst. Through an arsenal of degrading enzymes, B. cinerea is able to feed on different plant tissues. Recent molecular approaches show that this fungus shares conserved virulence factors with other phytopathogens, but also highlight some Botrytis-specific features. The discovery of some first strain-specific virulence factors, together with population data, even suggests a possible host adaptation of the strains. The availability of the genome sequence now stimulates the development of high-throughput functional analysis to decipher the mechanisms involved in the large host range of this species.
Botrytis cinerea virulence factors: new insights into a necrotrophic and polyphageous pathogen
FEMS Microbiology Letters 05 Oct 2007
Tags: Agriculture, Biology, Environment, Fungi, Microbiology, Mycology, Science
