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Special Issue "Plant Powdery Mildews: Host-Pathogen Interactions, Co-evolution, and Disease Control"

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A special issue of Pathogens (ISSN 2076-0817). This special issue belongs to the section "Fungal Pathogens".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 December 2023 | Viewed by 10310

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Tzion Fahima

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Guest Editor

Department of Evolutionary and Environmental Biology, University of Haifa, Haifa 3498838, Israel
Interests: plant genomics; plant structural and functional genomics studies; population genetics of wild cereals

Dr. Yinghui Li
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Guest Editor

Department of Evolutionary and Environmental Biology, University of Haifa, Haifa 3498838, Israel
Interests: plant genomics; plant structural and functional genomics studies

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,
Powdery mildew diseases are caused by many different species of fungi in the order Erysiphales. These pathogens can infect a wide range of plants that display white powdery spots on the surface of leaves, buds, young shoots, fruits, and flowers. Powdery mildews are among the most destructive plant diseases and can cause significant yield losses in agricultural fields. Deployment of effective powdery mildew resistance (Pm) genes in plant varieties is an important approach to reduce disease losses. Furthermore, regulation of resistance pathways by certain compounds (e.g. BTH and glycerol) was also shown to improve resistance to powdery mildew in several plant species.

Plants developed multifaceted innate immunity systems during their long co-evolution alongside their pathogens. Various plant resistance mechanisms have been demonstrated to be activated by specific surface-localized or cytoplasmic receptors in response to infection by powdery mildew. After recognition, several downstream signaling events can be elicited, such as accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), activation of various resistance signaling cascades, and interaction with plant hormones (e.g. salicylic acid, jasmonic acid, auxin, etc.).

In this exciting context, Pathogens is launching a Special Issue devoted to ‘Plant Powdery Mildews: Host-Pathogen Interactions, Co-evolution, and Disease Control’. Both original research and review articles are welcome. Potential topics include, but are not limited to the following:

(i) The molecular mechanisms and related pathways involved in plant immunity to powdery mildew.
(ii) Identification of Pm genes/QRLs/R-proteins that confer resistance to powdery mildew.
(iii) Identification of pathogen effectors, their interaction with host proteins, and their role in pathogenicity.
(iv) Allelic diversity, population genetic, and co-evolution of host resistance and pathogen virulence.
(v) Resistance breeding and/or pyramiding R-genes for improving resistance to powdery mildew.
(vi) New strategies and perspectives for disease control, including biological control.

Prof. Tzion Fahima
Dr. Yinghui Li
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Pathogens is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

powdery mildew
disease-resistance gene
NLR
QRL mapping
resistance alleles
molecular breeding
plant–pathogen co-evolution
crop wild relatives
host–parasite interactions

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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9 pages, 2675 KiB

Open AccessCommunication

A Complete Genome Sequence of Podosphaera xanthii Isolate YZU573, the Causal Agent of Powdery Mildew Isolated from Cucumber in China

and

Pathogens 2023, 12(4), 561; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens12040561 - 06 Apr 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 954

Abstract

Podosphaera xanthii is a well-known obligate biotrophic pathogen that causes powdery mildew (PM) disease on cucurbitaceous plants and is one of the most important limiting factors for cucumber production worldwide. To better understand the avirulence effector proteins in this species that are known to be involved in host-pathogen interaction, the draft genome assembly of P. xanthii isolate YZU573 from cucumber leaves with symptoms of PM was obtained with a hybrid approach, combining nanopore long-read and llumina paired-end sequencing. The final P. xanthii YZU573 genome assembly of 152.7 Mb consists of 58 contigs, with an N50 value of 0.75 Mb and 6491 predicted protein-coding genes. The effector analysis using the whole-genome sequence information revealed a total of 87 putative effector candidates, and 65 of them had their analogs, whereas the remaining 22 were novel ones. The new P. xanthii genome provides valuable resources to better understand plant-microbe interaction in cucumber PM disease. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Powdery Mildews: Host-Pathogen Interactions, Co-evolution, and Disease Control)

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8 pages, 2426 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Haplotype Analysis Sheds Light on the Genetic Evolution of the Powdery Mildew Resistance Locus Pm60 in Triticum Species

and

Pathogens 2023, 12(2), 241; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens12020241 - 02 Feb 2023

Viewed by 1193

Abstract

Wheat powdery mildew (Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici, Bgt, recently clarified as B. graminis s. str.), is one of the most destructive diseases of wheat. Pm60 is a nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat (NLR) gene that confers race-specific resistance to Bgt. Allelic variants (Pm60, Pm60a, and Pm60b) were found in Triticum urartu and T. dicoccoides, the wild progenitors of wheat. In the present study, we studied the diversity of the Pm60 locus in a large set of wheat germplasm and found 20 tetraploid wheats harboring the Pm60 alleles, which correspond to three novel haplotypes (HapI–HapIII). HapI (Pm60 allele) and HapII (Pm60a allele) were present in domesticated tetraploid wheats, whereas HapIII (Pm60a allele) was identified in wild tetraploid T. araraticum. A sequence comparison of HapII and HapIII revealed that they differed by three SNPs and a GCC deletion. Results of the phylogenetic analysis revealed that HapII was more closely related to the functional haplotype MlIW172. Infection tests showed that HapII-carrying lines display a partial resistance response to Bgt#GH, while HapI was susceptible. Our results provide insights into the genetic evolution of the Pm60 locus and potential valuable alleles for powdery mildew resistance breeding. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Powdery Mildews: Host-Pathogen Interactions, Co-evolution, and Disease Control)

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9 pages, 2595 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Postulation of Specific Disease Resistance Genes in Cereals: A Widely Used Method and Its Detailed Description

Antonín Dreiseitl

Pathogens 2022, 11(3), 284; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens11030284 - 23 Feb 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1523

Abstract

Cultivation of resistant varieties is an environmentally friendly and inexpensive method of crop protection. Numerous alleles of specific disease resistance occur in cereals and other crops, and knowledge of their presence in individual varieties has wide utilization in research and practice. Postulation based on phenotyping host—pathogen interactions and the gene-for-gene model is a common way of identifying these genes. The same technique and design of tests are used for postulating virulence when pathogen populations are studied. Powdery mildews caused by different formae speciales of Blumeria graminis (Bg) are important cereal diseases. In this contribution, experimental methods are described that use a model organism Bg f. sp. hordei, which can be employed for other cereal mildews and possibly rusts. It includes illustrations and a summary of our long-term practical experience. It also critically evaluates the benefits of leaf segment tests compared with screening whole plants. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Powdery Mildews: Host-Pathogen Interactions, Co-evolution, and Disease Control)

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11 pages, 1881 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Introgression of the Powdery Mildew Resistance Genes Pm60 and Pm60b from Triticum urartu to Common Wheat Using Durum as a ‘Bridge’

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Pathogens 2022, 11(1), 25; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens11010025 - 26 Dec 2021

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2582

Abstract

Powdery mildew, caused by the fungus Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici (Bgt), has limited wheat yields in many major wheat-production areas across the world. Introducing resistance genes from wild relatives into cultivated wheat can enrich the genetic resources for disease resistance breeding. The powdery mildew resistance gene Pm60 was first identified in diploid wild wheat Triticum urartu (T. urartu). In this study, we used durum as a ‘bridge’ approach to transfer Pm60 and Pm60b into hexaploid common wheat. Synthetic hexaploid wheat (SHW, AABBA^uA^u), developed by crossing T. urartu (A^uA^u) with durum (AABB), was used for crossing and backcrossing with common wheat. The Pm60 alleles were tracked by molecular markers and the resistance to powdery mildew. From BC₁F₁ backcross populations, eight recombinant types were identified based on five Pm60-flanking markers, which indicated different sizes of the introgressed chromosome segments from T. urartu. Moreover, we have selected two resistance-harboring introgression lines with high self-fertility, which could be easily used in wheat breeding system. Our results showed that the durum was an excellent ‘bridge’ for introducing the target gene from diploid T. urartu into the hexaploid cultivated wheat. Moreover, these introgression lines could be deployed in wheat resistance breeding programs, together with the assistance of the molecular markers for Pm60 alleles. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Powdery Mildews: Host-Pathogen Interactions, Co-evolution, and Disease Control)

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Review

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18 pages, 781 KiB

Open AccessReview

Powdery Mildew Resistance Genes in Vines: An Opportunity to Achieve a More Sustainable Viticulture

Viviana Sosa-Zuniga

Álvaro Vidal Valenzuela

Paola Barba

Carmen Espinoza Cancino

Jesus L. Romero-Romero

and

Patricio Arce-Johnson

Pathogens 2022, 11(6), 703; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens11060703 - 18 Jun 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2506

Abstract

Grapevine (Vitis vinifera) is one of the main fruit crops worldwide. In 2020, the total surface area planted with vines was estimated at 7.3 million hectares. Diverse pathogens affect grapevine yield, fruit, and wine quality of which powdery mildew is the most important disease prior to harvest. Its causal agent is the biotrophic fungus Erysiphe necator, which generates a decrease in cluster weight, delays fruit ripening, and reduces photosynthetic and transpiration rates. In addition, powdery mildew induces metabolic reprogramming in its host, affecting primary metabolism. Most commercial grapevine cultivars are highly susceptible to powdery mildew; consequently, large quantities of fungicide are applied during the productive season. However, pesticides are associated with health problems, negative environmental impacts, and high costs for farmers. In paralleled, consumers are demanding more sustainable practices during food production. Therefore, new grapevine cultivars with genetic resistance to powdery mildew are needed for sustainable viticulture, while maintaining yield, fruit, and wine quality. Two main gene families confer resistance to powdery mildew in the Vitaceae, Run (Resistance to Uncinula necator) and Ren (Resistance to Erysiphe necator). This article reviews the powdery mildew resistance genes and loci and their use in grapevine breeding programs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Powdery Mildews: Host-Pathogen Interactions, Co-evolution, and Disease Control)

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