Current Research in Soil Borne Plant Pathogens

Dear Colleagues,

Soilborne diseases cause major reductions in crop production every year. With a changing climate, pathogens are believed to be adapting and evolving under different geographical conditions conducive for diseases. Crops of all size and shapes, including vegetables, fruits, cereals, ornamentals, and high-value crops are vulnerable to a wide range of soilborne pathogens including but not limited to fungi, oomycetes, nematodes, and viruses. Some of the common soilborne pathogens include Fusarium ssp., Phytophthora spp., Pythium spp., Sclerotinia spp., Verticillium spp., Rhizoctonia spp., and Thielaviopsis spp. In this Special Issue, we welcome original research, short communications, reviews, and reports on all aspects of soilborne pathogens, including advances in pathogen population genetics; pathogen diagnostics to aid early detection of pathogens in the field; forward or reverse genetics in understanding the fungal effectors that are important in plant pathogenesis; epidemiology of the infection process; biological control systems in the effective management of soilborne diseases; soil fertility, health, and studies on pathogen-suppressive soils; integrated systems for disease management; studies at the gene expression and protein level to understand plant–pathogen interactions; host plant resistance mechanisms; large genomic and transcriptomic datasets to understand genome structure and diversity, as well as the pathogenicity of plant soilborne pathogens and the corresponding host defence pathways; proof-of-function knockout mutants; and identification, isolation, and cultivation of these pathogens.

Given the prevalence of these pathogens in agriculture, the difficulties in the long-term control of these pathogens, and their economic significance, we hope that this Special Issue will provide a platform for current research in soilborne plant pathogens to be disseminated and thereby addressing the knowledge gaps to improve our understanding of these pathogens and their management in the field.

Dr. Andrew Chen
Prof. Dr. Elizabeth Aitken
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Fungi is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• soilborne pathogens
• Fusarium spp.
• Phytophthora spp.
• Pythium spp.
• Sclerotinia spp.
• Verticillium spp.
• Rhizoctonia spp.
• Thielaviopsis spp.
• pathogen population genetics
• pathogen diagnostics
• biological control of soilborne diseases
• plant-pathogen interactions
• host resistance to soilborne pathogens
• characterization of pathogen effectors
• genomic and transcriptomic characterisation of these pathogens