Cacao pod transcriptome profiling of seven genotypes identifies features associated with post-penetration resistance to Phytophthora palmivora.

The oomycete Phytophthora palmivora infects the fruit of cacao trees (Theobroma cacao) causing black pod rot and reducing yields. Cacao genotypes vary in their resistance levels to P. palmivora, yet our understanding of how cacao fruit respond to the pathogen at the molecular level during disease establishment is limited.

Clonal reproduction of Moniliophthora roreri and the emergence of unique lineages with distinct genomes during range expansion.

The basidiomycete Moniliophthora roreri causes frosty pod rot of cacao (Theobroma cacao) in the western hemisphere. Moniliophthora roreri is considered asexual and haploid throughout its hemibiotrophic life cycle. To understand the processes driving genome modification, using long-read sequencing technology, we sequenced and assembled 5 high-quality M.

Changes in Gene Expression in Leaves of Cacao Genotypes Resistant and Susceptible to Infection.

Black pod rot, caused by , is a devastating disease of L. (cacao) leading to huge losses for farmers and limiting chocolate industry supplies. To understand resistance responses of cacao leaves to , Stage 2 leaves of genotypes Imperial College Selection 1 (ICS1), Colección Castro Naranjal 51 (CCN51), and Pound7 were inoculated with zoospores and monitored for symptoms up to 48 h.

Mitochondrial Genomics of Six Cacao Pathogens From the Basidiomycete Family .

Thread blight disease has recently been described as an emerging disease on cacao () in Ghana. In Ghana, thread blight disease is caused by multiple species of the family: , , and . Interestingly, two additional members of the ; (frosty pod rot) and (witches' broom disease), are major pathogens of cacao in the Western hemisphere.

Independent Whole-Genome Duplications Define the Architecture of the Genomes of the Devastating West African Cacao Black Pod Pathogen and Its Close Relative .

and are oomycete pathogens that cause black pod rot of cacao (), the most economically important disease on cacao globally. While is a cosmopolitan pathogen, , which is more aggressive on cacao than , has been reported only in West and Central Africa where it has been spreading and devastating cacao farms since the 1950s. In this study, we reconstructed the complete diploid genomes of multiple isolates of both species using single-molecule real-time sequencing.

Draft genome sequence of fastidious pathogen , which causes vascular-streak dieback in .

Background: , a member of the family, is the causal agent of vascular-streak dieback (VSD) of cacao, a major threat to the chocolate industry in the South-East Asia. The fastidious pathogen is very hard to isolate and maintain in pure culture, which is a major bottleneck in the study of its genetic diversity and genome.

Result: This study describes for the first time, a 33.

Genome and transcriptome analysis of the latent pathogen , an emerging threat to the cacao industry.

(Pat.) Griffon & Maubl., a member of the family Botryosphaeriaceae, is becoming a significant threat to crops and woody plants in many parts of the world, including the major cacao growing areas.

A Major Facilitator Superfamily Peptide Transporter From Influences Bioethanol Production From Lignocellulosic Material.

is a leading microbial agent in the emerging consolidated bioprocessing (CBP) industry owing to its capability to infiltrate the plant's lignin barrier and degrade complex carbohydrates to value-added chemicals such as bioethanol in a single step. Membrane transport of nutrients is a key factor in successful microbial colonization of host tissue. This study assessed the impact of a peptide transporter on ability to convert lignocellulosic straw to ethanol.

Virus-Induced Gene Silencing (VIGS) for Functional Characterization of Disease Resistance Genes in Barley Seedlings.

With the recent advances in sequencing technologies, many studies are generating lists of candidate genes associated with specific traits. The major bottleneck in functional genomics is the validation of gene function. This is achieved by analyzing the effect of either gene silencing or overexpression on a specific phenotypic or biochemical trait.

Morphological variants of Moniliophthora roreri on artificial media and the biotroph/necrotroph shift.

Moniliophthora roreri (Mr) causes frosty pod rot of Theobroma cacao in a hemibiotrophic association. The Mr biotroph-like phase has not been studied in culture. Mr spores (isolates Co12, Co52, and B3) were germinated on high (V8) and low (BPMM) nutrients with different media hardness (0.

Moniliophthora roreri, causal agent of cacao frosty pod rot.

Unlabelled: Taxonomy: Moniliophthora roreri (Cif.) H.C.

and , Causal Agents of Black Pod Rot, Induce Similar Plant Defense Responses Late during Infection of Susceptible Cacao Pods.

(Pmeg) and (Ppal) cause black pod rot of L. (cacao). Of these two clade 4 species, Pmeg is more virulent and is displacing Ppal in many cacao production areas in Africa.

Phytophthora megakarya and P. palmivora, closely related causal agents of cacao black pod rot, underwent increases in genome sizes and gene numbers by different mechanisms.

(Pmeg) and (Ppal) are closely related species causing cacao black pod rot. Although Ppal is a cosmopolitan pathogen, cacao is the only known host of economic importance for Pmeg Pmeg is more virulent on cacao than Ppal We sequenced and compared the Pmeg and Ppal genomes and identified virulence-related putative gene models (PGeneM) that may be responsible for their differences in host specificities and virulence. Pmeg and Ppal have estimated genome sizes of 126.

Fungal-mediated consolidated bioprocessing: the potential of Fusarium oxysporum for the lignocellulosic ethanol industry.

Microbial bioprocessing of lignocellulose to bioethanol still poses challenges in terms of substrate catabolism. The most important challenge is to overcome substrate recalcitrance and to thus reduce the number of steps needed to biorefine lignocellulose. Conventionally, conversion involves chemical pretreatment of lignocellulose, followed by hydrolysis of biomass to monomer sugars that are subsequently fermented into bioethanol.

Combination of RNAseq and SNP nanofluidic array reveals the center of genetic diversity of cacao pathogen Moniliophthora roreri in the upper Magdalena Valley of Colombia and its clonality.

Moniliophthora roreri is the fungal pathogen that causes frosty pod rot (FPR) disease of Theobroma cacao L., the source of chocolate. FPR occurs in most of the cacao producing countries in the Western Hemisphere, causing yield losses up to 80%.

Plant disease resistance is augmented in uzu barley lines modified in the brassinosteroid receptor BRI1.

Background: Brassinosteroid hormones regulate many aspects of plant growth and development. The membrane receptor BRI1 is a central player in the brassinosteroid signaling cascade. Semi-dwarf 'uzu' barley carries a mutation in a conserved domain of the kinase tail of BRI1 and this mutant allele is recognised for its positive contribution to both yield and lodging resistance.

Global transcript and phenotypic analysis of yeast cells expressing Ssa1, Ssa2, Ssa3 or Ssa4 as sole source of cytosolic Hsp70-Ssa chaperone activity.

Background: Cytosolic Hsp70 is a ubiquitous molecular chaperone that is involved in responding to a variety of cellular stresses. A major function of Hsp70 is to prevent the aggregation of denatured proteins by binding to exposed hydrophobic regions and preventing the accumulation of amorphous aggregates. To gain further insight into the functional redundancy and specialisation of the highly homologous yeast Hsp70-Ssa family we expressed each of the individual Ssa proteins as the sole source of Hsp70 in the cell and assessed phenotypic differences in prion propagation and stress resistance.

Differential gene expression by Moniliophthora roreri while overcoming cacao tolerance in the field.

Frosty pod rot (FPR) of Theobroma cacao (cacao) is caused by the hemibiotrophic fungus Moniliophthora roreri. Cacao clones tolerant to FPR are being planted throughout Central America. To determine whether M.

Brassinosteroid enhances resistance to fusarium diseases of barley.

Fusarium pathogens are among the most damaging pathogens of cereals. These pathogens have the ability to attack the roots, seedlings, and flowering heads of barley and wheat plants with disease, resulting in yield loss and head blight disease and also resulting in the contamination of grain with mycotoxins harmful to human and animal health. There is increasing evidence that brassinosteroid (BR) hormones play an important role in plant defense against both biotic and abiotic stress agents and this study set out to determine if and how BR might affect Fusarium diseases of barley.

Insights from the fungus Fusarium oxysporum point to high affinity glucose transporters as targets for enhancing ethanol production from lignocellulose.

Ethanol is the most-widely used biofuel in the world today. Lignocellulosic plant biomass derived from agricultural residue can be converted to ethanol via microbial bioprocessing. Fungi such as Fusarium oxysporum can simultaneously saccharify straw to sugars and ferment sugars to ethanol.

Auxin as a player in the biocontrol of Fusarium head blight disease of barley and its potential as a disease control agent.

Background: Mechanisms involved in the biological control of plant diseases are varied and complex. Hormones, including the auxin indole acetic acid (IAA) and abscisic acid (ABA), are essential regulators of a multitude of biological functions, including plant responses to biotic and abiotic stressors. This study set out to determine what hormones might play a role in Pseudomonas fluorescens -mediated control of Fusarium head blight (FHB) disease of barley and to determine if biocontrol-associated hormones directly affect disease development.

Exploiting the inter-strain divergence of Fusarium oxysporum for microbial bioprocessing of lignocellulose to bioethanol.

Microbial bioprocessing of lignocellulose to bioethanol still poses challenges in terms of substrate catabolism. A targeted evolution-based study was undertaken to determine if inter-strain microbial variability could be exploited for bioprocessing of lignocellulose to bioethanol. The microorganism studied was Fusarium oxysporum because of its capacity to both saccharify and ferment lignocellulose.