Fungi represent a common and diverse part of the microbial communities that associate with plants. They also commonly colonise various plant parts asymptomatically. The molecular mechanisms of these interactions are, ...

It is challenging to sequence and assemble genomes of obligate plant pathogens and microorganisms because of limited amounts of DNA, comparatively large genomes and high numbers of repeat regions. We sequenced the 1.2 ...

BACKGROUND : Fusarium circinatum is a pressing threat to the cultivation of many economically important pine tree species. Efforts to develop effective disease management strategies can be aided by investigating the ...

Many pests and pathogens threaten Eucalyptus plantations. The study of defense responses in this economically important wood and fiber crop enables the discovery of novel pathways and genes, which may be adopted to improve ...

Eucalyptus species are cultivated for forestry and are of economic importance. The fungal stem canker pathogen Chrysoporthe austroafricana causes disease of varying severity on E. grandis. The Eucalyptus grandis-Chrysoporthe ...

Two important role players in plant defence response are the phytohormones salicylic acid (SA) and jasmonic acid (JA); both of which have been well described in model species such as Arabidopsis thaliana. Several pathogenesis ...

Gall-inducing insects are capable of exerting a high level of control over their hosts’ cellular machinery to the extent that the plant’s development, metabolism, chemistry, and physiology are all altered in favour of ...

In recent years, forests have been exposed to an unprecedented rise in pests and pathogens. This, coupled with the added challenge of climate change, renders forest plantation stock vulnerable to attack and severely limits ...

Plants encounter several biotic and abiotic stresses, usually in combination. This results in major economic losses in agriculture and forestry every year. Climate change aggravates the adverse effects of combined stresses ...

BACKGROUND : Fusarium circinatum, the causal agent of pitch canker disease, poses a serious threat to several Pinus species affecting plantations and nurseries. Although Pinus pinaster has shown moderate resistance to F. ...