Abstract:
Fulvia fulva and Dothistroma septosporum are closely related apoplastic pathogens with
similar lifestyles but different hosts: F. fulva is a pathogen of tomato, whilst D. septosporum
is a pathogen of pine trees. In 2012, the first genome sequences of these
pathogens were published, with F. fulva and D. septosporum having highly fragmented
and near-complete
assemblies, respectively. Since then, significant advances have
been made in unravelling their genome architectures. For instance, the genome of
F. fulva has now been assembled into 14 chromosomes, 13 of which have synteny with
the 14 chromosomes of D. septosporum, suggesting these pathogens are even more
closely related than originally thought. Considerable advances have also been made
in the identification and functional characterization of virulence factors (e.g., effector
proteins and secondary metabolites) from these pathogens, thereby providing new
insights into how they promote host colonization or activate plant defence responses.
For example, it has now been established that effector proteins from both F. fulva
and D. septosporum interact with cell-surface
immune receptors and co-receptors
to
activate the plant immune system. Progress has also been made in understanding
how F. fulva and D. septosporum have evolved with their host plants, whilst intensive
research into pandemics of Dothistroma needle blight in the Northern Hemisphere
has shed light on the origins, migration, and genetic diversity of the global D. septosporum
population. In this review, we specifically summarize advances made in our
understanding of the F. fulva–tomato
and D. septosporum–pine
pathosystems over the
last 10 years.