Mutations in VMK1, a mitogen-activated protein kinase gene, affect microsclerotia formation and pathogenicity in Verticillium dahliae.

Verticillium dahliae is an important soil-borne fungal pathogen that causes vascular wilt diseases in a large variety of important crop plants. Due to its persistence in the soil, control of Verticillium wilt relies heavily on soil fumigation. The global ban on methyl bromide, a highly effective soil fumigant, poses an urgent need to develop alternative control measures against Verticillium wilt; and these might be more forthcoming with a better understanding of the molecular and cellular mechanisms that underpin the pathogenicity of V.