The in vitro secretome of Mycosphaerella fijiensis induces cell death in banana leaves.

The hemibiotrophic filamentous fungus Mycosphaerella fijiensis causes the banana foliar disease known as black Sigatoka, responsible for major worldwide losses in the banana fruit industry. In this work the in vitro secretome of M. fijiensis was characterized.

Construction of a genetic linkage map of the fungal pathogen of banana Mycosphaerella fijiensis, causal agent of black leaf streak disease.

A genetic linkage map of the fungal plant pathogen Mycosphaerella fijiensis, causal agent of black leaf streak disease of banana was developed. A cross between the isolates CIRAD86 (from Cameroon) and CIRAD139A (from Colombia) was analyzed using molecular markers and the MAT locus. The genetic linkage map consists of 298 AFLP and 16 SSR markers with 23 linkage groups, containing five or more markers, covering 1,879 cM.

Construction and characterization of a bacterial artificial chromosome library of the causal agent of Black Sigatoka fungal leaf spot disease of banana and plantain, Mycosphaerella fijiensis.

A bacterial artificial chromosome library of the causal agent of the Black Sigatoka leaf spot disease of banana and plantain, Mycosphaerella fijiensis, has been constructed using a non-sphaeroplasting technique and characterized using both homologous and heterologous probes. After first and a second size selection of PFGE-fractionated DNA, a ligation was obtained using a 1:4 molar ratio (insert:vector). One hundred random clones were analyzed, and the mean insert size was estimated to be 90 kb.

Structural and phylogenetic analysis of Pto-type disease resistance gene candidates in banana.

The tomato Pto gene encodes a serine/threonine kinase (STK) whose molecular characterization has provided valuable insights into the disease resistance mechanism of tomato and it is considered as a promising candidate for engineering broad-spectrum pathogen resistance in this crop. In this study, a pair of degenerate primers based on conserved subdomains of plant STKs similar to the tomato Pto protein was used to amplify similar sequences in banana. A fragment of approximately 550 bp was amplified, cloned and sequenced.