The Destructive Fungal Pathogen Botrytis cinerea—Insights from Genes Studied with Mutant Analysis

Abstract

Botrytis cinerea is one of the most destructive fungal pathogens affecting numerous plant hosts, including many important crop species. As a molecularly under-studied organism, its genome was only sequenced at the beginning of this century and it was recently updated with improved gene annotation and completeness. In this review, we summarize key molecular studies on B. cinerea developmental and pathogenesis processes, specifically on genes studied comprehensively with mutant analysis. Analyses of these studies have unveiled key genes in the biological processes of this pathogen, including hyphal growth, sclerotial formation, conidiation, pathogenicity and melanization. In addition, our synthesis has uncovered gaps in the present knowledge regarding development and virulence mechanisms. We hope this review will serve to enhance the knowledge of the biological mechanisms behind this notorious fungal pathogen.

Cytokinin Inhibits Fungal Development and Virulence by Targeting the Cytoskeleton and Cellular Trafficking

“…The list was generated using the database of virulence factors in fungal pathogens ( 38 ) and the published virulence gene groups according to Choquer et al ( 39 ), and it contains 225 genes from 18 different functional groups. The downregulation of many genes involved in different aspects of B. cinerea life was reported to affect virulence ( 40 ); however, for our virulence gene list, we avoided genes that relate to fungal development and focused on genes reported to relate to the infection process. The full list is provided in Data Set S1D .…”

A novel approach to control Botrytis cinerea fungal infections: uptake and biological activity of antifungals encapsulated in nanoparticle based vectors

“…Fungal plant pathogens are the main cause of considerable economic losses of crop plants 1 . Ascomycete Botrytis cinerea , responsible for grey mold diseases, is a highly successful pathogen due to its flexible infection modes, high reproductive output, wide host range, and ability to survive for extended periods as conidia and/or small hardened mycelia masses called sclerotia 2 .…”

The Fusarium graminearum FGSG_03624 Xylanase Enhances Plant Immunity and Increases Resistance against Bacterial and Fungal Pathogens

“…The observation that these genes appeared similarly expressed in the mXyl lines compared to the control plants also agrees with the similar disease severity measured after B. cinerea inoculation. Notwithstanding these defense genes are induced after B. cinerea inoculation, their expression level may be too low to counteract the development of symptoms by this fast-growing pathogen, which is known to secrete an array of virulence and necrosis factors to overcome plant defense responses [ 40 ].…”