Current Research on Fusarium: 2nd Edition

A special issue of Pathogens (ISSN 2076-0817). This special issue belongs to the section "Fungal Pathogens".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 July 2024 | Viewed by 4065

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Laboratory of Plant Pathology, Nature Research Centre, Vilnius, Lithuania
Interests: fungal and bacterial plant pathogens; phylogenetic analyses; genotyping; genomics

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Guest Editor
Institute of Agriculture, Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry, Akademija, LT-58344 Kėdainiai, Lithuania
Interests: identification and quantification of plant pathogens; investigation of factors influencing their occurrence and the establishment in agroecosystems; plat pathogen interaction with host plant and antagonistic microorganisms
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Guest Editor
Biology Department, City University of New York Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, NY 11210, USA
Interests: role of functional amyloids in cell adhesion; structure and function of cell adhesion proteins in eukaryotes; role of fungal cell adhesion proteins in pathogenesis; structure, evolution, and biosynthesis of fungal cell walls; discovery of wall-targeted antifungal drugs
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The Fusarium species are some of the most important plant pathogens; they have diverse ecological characteristics, different nutritional and environmental requirements, and several strategies for associating with and colonizing host plants. Solely, or in complexes, Fusarium species may cause various root, crown, stem, stalk, and fruit rots, head blight, and vascular wilts in plants of economic and ecological importance. In addition, members of the genus are producers of a wide range of secondary metabolites and may also be pathogenic to humans and animals. Fusarium fungi also have a widespread distribution as they are capable of growing and developing on a wide range of substrates, have efficient mechanisms for spore dispersal, and are capable of surviving in a variety of environmental conditions. Most of the plant-pathogenic species are soilborne and can therefore survive in soil and plant debris for numerous years. Thus, this fungus is also difficult to control, and the physical, chemical, and cultural management methods used so far in agricultural crops are insufficiently effective. Fusarium head blight, root rots, and wilts caused by the Fusarium species are among the most studied phytopathogens worldwide, but there is still a lack of knowledge on how to control them, especially in view of the increased need for conservation and reduced tillage systems and the reduced- or non-chemical control of plant diseases.

Thus, this Special Issue aims to present some of the latest works on Fusarium genomics; population genetics, diversity, and virulence mechanisms; pathogen–host interactions; the evaluation of the prevalence of Fusarium fungi; the pathogenicity and genome structure of the Fusarium species; disease risk forecasting; the elucidation of risk-reduction strategies including cropping factors; sustainable disease control strategies; and the presentation of new laboratory techniques for the isolation, identification, detection, and quantification of these pathogens, among other relevant topics.

Dr. Daiva Burokiene
Dr. Skaidrė Supronienė
Prof. Dr. Peter N. Lipke
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • Fusarium
  • epidemiology
  • phylogeny
  • genetics
  • pathogen-host interaction
  • secondary metabolites
  • metabolomics
  • transcriptomics
  • preventive/eradication measures

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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22 pages, 8776 KiB  
Article
Insights into Wheat Genotype‒Sphaerodes mycoparasitica Interaction to Improve Crop Yield and Defence against Fusarium graminearum: An Integration of FHB Biocontrol in Canadian Wheat Breeding Programmes
by Antonia Powell, Seon Hwa Kim, Pierre Hucl and Vladimir Vujanovic
Pathogens 2024, 13(5), 372; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens13050372 - 30 Apr 2024
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Abstract
Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a major threat to wheat crop production and food security worldwide. The creation of resistant wheat cultivars is an essential component of an integrated strategy against Fusarium graminearum, the primary aetiological agent that causes FHB. The results [...] Read more.
Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a major threat to wheat crop production and food security worldwide. The creation of resistant wheat cultivars is an essential component of an integrated strategy against Fusarium graminearum, the primary aetiological agent that causes FHB. The results of this study show that the deployment of proto-cooperative interactions between wheat genotypes and mycoparasitic biocontrol agents (BCAs) can improve crop yield and plant resistance in controlling the devastating effects of FHB on wheat agronomic traits. A Fusarium-specific mycoparasite, Sphaerodes mycoparasitica, was found to be compatible with common and durum wheat hosts, thus allowing the efficient control of F. graminearum infection in plants. Four genotypes of wheat, two common wheat, and two durum wheat cultivars with varying FHB resistance levels were used in this greenhouse study. The BCA treatments decreased FHB symptoms in all four cultivars and improved the agronomic traits such as spike number, spike weight, seed weight, plant biomass, and plant height which are vital to grain yield. Conversely, the F. graminearum 3ADON chemotype treatment decreased the agronomic trait values by up to 44% across cultivars. Spike number, spike weight, and seed weight were the most improved traits by the BCA. A more measurable improvement in agronomic traits was observed in durum wheat cultivars compared to common wheat. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Research on Fusarium: 2nd Edition)
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14 pages, 2255 KiB  
Article
In Vitro Sensitivity Test of Fusarium Species from Weeds and Non-Gramineous Plants to Triazole Fungicides
by Neringa Matelionienė, Renata Žvirdauskienė, Gražina Kadžienė, Evelina Zavtrikovienė and Skaidrė Supronienė
Pathogens 2024, 13(2), 160; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens13020160 - 10 Feb 2024
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Abstract
Fusarium species are common plant pathogens that cause serious crop losses worldwide. Fusarium spp. colonize not only the main host plants, crops, but also alternative hosts. The effectiveness of fungicide use in disease management ranges from very successful to possibly promoting the growth [...] Read more.
Fusarium species are common plant pathogens that cause serious crop losses worldwide. Fusarium spp. colonize not only the main host plants, crops, but also alternative hosts. The effectiveness of fungicide use in disease management ranges from very successful to possibly promoting the growth of the pathogen. Triazole fungicides are widely used to control these pathogens due to their broad-spectrum activity and systemic nature. This paper reviews the sensitivity of 40 Fusarium strains isolated from weeds, non-gramineous plants, and spring wheat to metconazole, prothioconazole, and tebuconazole. The effect of fungicides was determined by the percentage inhibition of F. graminearum, F. culmorum, F. sporotrichioides, and F. avenaceum fungal mycelial growth. The 50% effective concentration (EC50) values of all isolates on metconazole were lower than 2.9 mg L−1, prothioconazole EC50 ranged from 0.12 to 23.6 mg L−1, and tebuconazole ranged from 0.09 to 15.6 mg L−1. At 0.00025–0.025 mg L−1, the fungicides were ineffective, except for the growth of the F. avenaceum species. It was observed that isolates from weeds were more sensitive to low concentrations of fungicide than isolates from crop plants. In general, information is scarce regarding the comparison of fungicide resistance in Fusarium isolates from weed and crop plants, making this study an additional contribution to the existing knowledge base. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Research on Fusarium: 2nd Edition)
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35 pages, 17627 KiB  
Article
The Cultured Microbiome of Pollinated Maize Silks Shifts after Infection with Fusarium graminearum and Varies by Distance from the Site of Pathogen Inoculation
by Michelle E. H. Thompson, Anuja Shrestha, Jeffrey Rinne, Victor Limay-Rios, Lana Reid and Manish N. Raizada
Pathogens 2023, 12(11), 1322; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens12111322 - 6 Nov 2023
Viewed by 2224
Abstract
Styles transmit pollen-derived sperm nuclei from pollen to ovules, but also transmit environmental pathogens. The microbiomes of styles are likely important for reproduction/disease, yet few studies exist. Whether style microbiome compositions are spatially responsive to pathogens is unknown. The maize pathogen Fusarium graminearum [...] Read more.
Styles transmit pollen-derived sperm nuclei from pollen to ovules, but also transmit environmental pathogens. The microbiomes of styles are likely important for reproduction/disease, yet few studies exist. Whether style microbiome compositions are spatially responsive to pathogens is unknown. The maize pathogen Fusarium graminearum enters developing grain through the style (silk). We hypothesized that F. graminearum treatment shifts the cultured transmitting silk microbiome (TSM) compared to healthy silks in a distance-dependent manner. Another objective of the study was to culture microbes for future application. Bacteria were cultured from husk-covered silks of 14 F. graminearum-treated diverse maize genotypes, proximal (tip) and distal (base) to the F. graminearum inoculation site. Long-read 16S sequences from 398 isolates spanned 35 genera, 71 species, and 238 OTUs. More bacteria were cultured from F. graminearum-inoculated tips (271 isolates) versus base (127 isolates); healthy silks were balanced. F. graminearum caused a collapse in diversity of ~20–25% across multiple taxonomic levels. Some species were cultured exclusively or, more often, from F. graminearum-treated silks (e.g., Delftia acidovorans, Klebsiella aerogenes, K. grimontii, Pantoea ananatis, Stenotrophomonas pavanii). Overall, the results suggest that F. graminearum alters the TSM in a distance-dependent manner. Many isolates matched taxa that were previously identified using V4-MiSeq (core and F. graminearum-induced), but long-read sequencing clarified the taxonomy and uncovered greater diversity than was initially predicted (e.g., within Pantoea). These isolates represent the first comprehensive cultured collection from pathogen-treated maize silks to facilitate biocontrol efforts and microbial marker-assisted breeding. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Research on Fusarium: 2nd Edition)
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