Convergent targeting of a common host protein-network by pathogen effectors from three kingdoms of life.

While conceptual principles governing plant immunity are becoming clear, its systems-level organization and the evolutionary dynamic of the host-pathogen interface are still obscure. We generated a systematic protein-protein interaction network of virulence effectors from the ascomycete pathogen Golovinomyces orontii and Arabidopsis thaliana host proteins. We combined this data set with corresponding data for the eubacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae and the oomycete pathogen Hyaloperonospora arabidopsidis.

An ABC pleiotropic drug resistance transporter of Fusarium graminearum with a role in crown and root diseases of wheat.

FgABC1 (FGSG_04580) is predicted to encode a pleiotropic drug resistance class ABC transporter in Fusarium graminearum, a globally important pathogen of wheat. Deletion mutants of FgABC1 showed reduced virulence towards wheat in crown and root infection assays but were unaltered in infectivity on barley. Expression of FgABC1 during head blight and crown rot disease increases during the necrotrophic phases of infection suggestive of a role for FgABC1 in late infection stages in different tissue types.

Phases of infection and gene expression of Fusarium graminearum during crown rot disease of wheat.

Fusarium graminearum causes head blight (FHB) and crown rot (CR) diseases in wheat. Compared with FHB, CR symptom development occurs slowly, usually taking 4 to 8 weeks to become visible. To characterize CR development, we used histological and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction analyses to assess fungal colonization during a timecourse of infection.

The Fusarium mycotoxin deoxynivalenol elicits hydrogen peroxide production, programmed cell death and defence responses in wheat.

Fusarium species infect cereal crops worldwide and cause the important diseases Fusarium head blight and crown rot in wheat. Fusarium pathogens reduce yield and some species also produce trichothecene mycotoxins, such as deoxynivalenol (DON), during infection. These toxins play roles in pathogenesis on wheat and have serious health effects if present in grain consumed by humans or animals.