Identification of a reduced rate combination of a plant growth inhibitor with a plant defense inducer for the management of the shoot blight phase of fire blight.

The secondary shoot blight phase of fire blight is a critical component of disease epidemics in apples, pears, and other Rosaceae family plants with infection occurring at the tips of vigorously growing branches. Shoot blight infections are exacerbated in modern high-density apple plantings, where growers emphasize maximizing tree growth to recapture planting costs and increase yields of high-quality fruit. The overarching goal of this study was to develop new strategies for shoot blight management that do not impact the growth and yield of young apple trees.

The role of foraging pollinators in assembling the flower microbiota and transmitting the fire blight pathogen Erwinia amylovora.

Flowers serve as hubs for biotic interactions with pollinators and microbes, which can significantly impact plant reproduction and health. Previous studies have shown that the flower microbiota undergoes dynamic assembly processes during anthesis. However, the influence of foraging pollinators on the assembly and dispersal of the flower microbiota and the transmission of plant pathogens remains poorly understood.

Key Challenges in Plant Pathology in the Next Decade.

Plant diseases significantly impact food security and food safety. It was estimated that food production needs to increase by 50% to feed the projected 9.3 billion people by 2050.

pGpG-signaling regulates virulence and global transcriptomic targets in .

Cyclic-di-GMP (c-di-GMP) is a critical bacterial second messenger that enables the physiological phase transition in , the phytopathogenic bacterium that causes fire blight disease. C-di-GMP generation is dependent on diguanylate cyclase enzymes while the degradation of c-di-GMP can occur through the action of phosphodiesterase (PDE) enzymes that contain an active EAL and/or a HD-GYP domain. The HD-GYP-type PDEs, which are absent in , can directly degrade c-di-GMP into two GMP molecules.