Differences in the initial events of infection of Botrytis cinerea strains isolated from tomato and grape

Abstract

Various stages of the infection process among B. cinerea strains isolated from tomatoes or grapes, belonging to different genetic groups, were compared. It was found that strains of B. cinerea isolated from either grapes or tomatoes showed differences in adhesion patterns and in the percentage of germination on tomato cutin. In strains isolated from tomato the first stage of adhesion occurred faster than in strains isolated from grape. At the same time strains isolated from tomato showed a higher percentage of germination on tomato cutin than the other strains after 9 h of incubation. The production and isoenzymatic patterns of polygalacturonases, pectin methyl esterases, pectin lyases, p-nitrophenylbutyrate esterases and laccases by B. cinerea in solid-state fermentation also were analyzed. Correlation between the production of these enzymes and the origin of the strains was not found. On the other hand all strains produced different isoenzymes and a common pattern between the strains was not observed. The ability of B. cinerea strains to colonize tomato leaves also differs between the isolated strains obtained from grapes and tomato. Strains isolated from tomato were more virulent on tomato leaves than strains isolated from grapes.

The polyphagous plant pathogenic fungus Botrytis cinerea encompasses host‐specialized and generalist populations

“…Moreover, the previous observation that conidia of B . cinerea strains isolated from tomato have a higher germination rate on tomato cutin than conidia of strains isolated from grapevine (Cotoras and Silva, ) suggests that some of the molecular determinants underlying host specialization must be involved from the very early stage of the plant‐pathogen interaction. Altogether, this pleads for elucidating the molecular determinants of host specialization in B .…”

“…Actually a recent genome-wide association mapping of B. cinerea showed that its virulence against a range of domesticated and wild tomatoes is highly polygenic and involves a diversity of mechanisms (Breeze, 2019;Soltis et al, 2019). Moreover, the previous observation that conidia of B. cinerea strains isolated from tomato have a higher germination rate on tomato cutin than conidia of strains isolated from grapevine (Cotoras and Silva, 2005) suggests that some of the molecular determinants underlying host specialization must be involved from the very early stage of the plantpathogen interaction. Altogether, this pleads for elucidating the molecular determinants of host specialization in B. cinerea and to determine their specificity towards host plants, such as tomato but also within the Solanaceae family.…”

Characterization of Botrytis cinerea isolates from chickpea: DNA polymorphisms, cultural, morphological and virulence characteristics

“…The highly variable nature of B. cinerea and resulting changes in its aggressiveness pose a further threat to the deployment of available resistant sources and also the breeding programs targeted at pyramiding of BGM resistance (Pande et al, 2006). Variations in growth patterns (Martinez et al, 2003), virulence (Van der et al, 1993), fungicide sensitivity (Myresiotis et al, 2007) and production of cell wall degrading enzymes (Cotoras and Silva, 2005) of B. cinerea isolates are known. The B. cinerea isolates tested in this study varied in their growth rate as well as number and size of conidia formed.…”

Gray mold caused by Botrytis cinerea limits grape production in Chile

“…This genetic variability was later associated with important differences in adhesion, the percent germination on tomato cutin and the ability to colonize tomato leaves, which were demonstrated between genetic groups of Chilean B. cinerea isolates (Cotoras and Silva, 2005).…”

“…Under these conditions, conidia germinate after deposition, hydration and attachment (first stage) to the host surface (Cotoras and Silva, 2005;Doss et al, 1995), forming a single or branched germtube, often with an appressorium at the distal end (Viret et al, 2004). The appressorium facilitates attachment (second stage) and active (direct) penetration of intact host surfaces by means of penetrating hyphae.…”