Application of Omics Technologies for a Deeper Insight into the Study of Fungal Trunk Pathogens of Grapevine

Dear Colleagues,

Grapevine trunk diseases (GTDs) have become a major concern worldwide, causing significant economic impact resulting from reduced production and vineyard longevity. These diseases are caused by a wide range of fungal pathogens producing a range of symptoms, including: leaf and shoot distortion and discoloration, external wood cankers and dieback, internal wood necrosis and staining, poor growth, mortality of roots, and sudden vine collapse. The prevalence of GTDs has significantly increased with changes in production practices, loss of effective chemicals, predominance of susceptible cultivars, and ageing of vineyards. Successful disease management requires a holistic approach from the nursery to the vineyard.

On the last several decades, the study of plant–pathogen interaction was boosted by the advent of new technologies and the application of multiple omics platforms. Omics technologies reflect the dynamic concept of biological processes and provide a contemporary approach to mycology research for fungal pathogen management by identifying whole genomes (genomics); epigenetic mechanisms (epigenomics); transcriptomes (transcriptomics), proteomes (proteomics), metabolomes (metabolomics); bacterial and fungal communities, protozoa, viruses and viroids (metagenomics); the total elemental composition of organisms (ionomics); the structure and function of the complete set of lipids (lipidomics); and phenotypes (phenomics).

The aim of this Special Issue is to cover multiple aspects of grapevine fungal trunk pathogen interactions, with emphasis on the application of individual- and multi-omics-based technologies to propose novel or improve current management strategies. 

Dr. David Gramaje
Dr. Ales Eichmeier
Guest Editors

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