Molecular Detection and Management of Plant Pathogens

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Protection and Biotic Interactions".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2027 | Viewed by 347

Editors


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Guest Editor
Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210018, China
Interests: molecular detection; phytophthora effectors; biological control; nano-enabled control
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210018, China
Interests: microbial resource development; soil microbial community; biofilm; biological control

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747), entitled “Molecular Detection and Management of Plant Pathogens”, aims to bring together cutting-edge research and review articles focusing on the development, validation and application of novel molecular detection tools and integrated management strategies for plant pathogens of agricultural, horticultural and forestry importance. We welcome contributions covering, but not limited to, the following topics:

  • RPA/CRISPR‑based molecular detection systems (Cas12a, Cas13a, Cas14, Cas9) for fungal, bacterial, nematode and viral plant pathogens;
  • Isothermal amplification techniques (LAMP, RPA, RAA, HDA, CPA) for rapid field diagnostics;
  • One‑pot/one‑tube closed reactions eliminating contamination and simplifying workflows;
  • Microfluidic chip and lab‑on‑a‑chip technologies for multiplexed, high‑throughput pathogen detection and surveillance;
  • Portable/handheld detection devices integrated with rapid nucleic acid extraction and lyophilized reagents for point‑of‑care (POC) applications;
  • CRISPR‑based nucleic acid biosensors coupled with lateral flow strips, electrochemical, fluorescent, colorimetric or smartphone‑based readouts;
  • Genome‑based biomarker discovery (comparative genomics, machine‑learning screening) for genus‑/species‑specific diagnostic targets;
  • Multi‑target and multiplex detection for co‑infections and mixed pathogen complexes;
  • AI and deep learning for disease diagnostics and detection data interpretation;
  • Integrated disease management informed by rapid diagnostics, including biological control, host resistance and fungicide stewardship.

Dr. Tingting Dai
Dr. Yinjuan Zhao
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 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.

Keywords

  • molecular detection of plant pathogens
  • RPA CRISPR/Cas detection system
  • integrated disease management
  • plant protection and quarantine biological control

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

19 pages, 12664 KB  
Article
RPA-CRISPR/Cas12a-Mediated Isothermal Amplification Technology for Visual Detection of Fusarium proliferatum
by Bingyan Zheng, Chenyun Guan, Jiahui Zang, Xiaoqiao Xu, Chun Yang, Xiaorui Zhang and Tingting Dai
Plants 2026, 15(15), 2352; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants15152352 - 30 Jul 2026
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Abstract
Fusarium proliferatum is a fungal pathogen with an exceptionally broad host range, infecting ornamental plants and forest trees such as Populus and Cedrus deodara, and causing heart rot, root rot, and other diseases that lead to severe yield losses. It can also [...] Read more.
Fusarium proliferatum is a fungal pathogen with an exceptionally broad host range, infecting ornamental plants and forest trees such as Populus and Cedrus deodara, and causing heart rot, root rot, and other diseases that lead to severe yield losses. It can also produce mycotoxins, including fumonisins, which threaten human and animal health. Conventional detection relies on isolation, culture, and morphological identification, which are time-consuming and prone to misidentification. Here, we established a rapid, visual molecular detection method by combining recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) with the CRISPR/Cas12a system, targeting the F. proliferatum-specific gene Fpro_15953. The assay exhibited high specificity: the F. proliferatum isolate from C. deodara tested positive, while 37 non-target isolates (10 other Fusarium species, 10 other fungi, 15 oomycetes, and 2 Bursaphelenchus nematodes) produced no detectable signal. Under isothermal conditions at 37 °C, after 10 min of RPA followed by 10 min of Cas12a cleavage, as little as 0.001 ng·μL−1 of F. proliferatum genomic DNA could be detected. The method further succeeded in detecting F. proliferatum in artificially inoculated C. deodara needles and Populus × hopeiensis stem and root segments. This RPA-CRISPR/Cas12a platform provides an efficient, accurate tool for F. proliferatum detection and supports rapid field diagnosis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Detection and Management of Plant Pathogens)
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