Abstract
Fungi are relatively simple eukaryotes; most reproduce rapidly and are easy to grow. Fungi in general have small genomes; during vegetative growth many are haploid and some are uninucleate. In numerous cases their life cycle can be completed in the laboratory and the products of meiosis analyzed individually, facilitating classical genetics. The fungi which are responsible for plant diseases are interesting biologically and important economically. In sum, plant pathogenic fungi would appear to be excellent subjects for genetic and biochemical analysis, and attractive organisms for the application of molecular approaches to dissecting the phenomenon of pathogenesis. However, there is a disappointingly short list of examples for which we understand, even in part, the molecular basis for fungal—plant interactions. One reason is the great diversity of fungi and the many routes by which they have achieved their successes as pathogens. As a result of this diversity, no fungus has emerged as an overall model for the analysis of pathogenicity toward plants, as the yeasts Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Schizosaccharomyces pombe or the filamentous fungi Neurospora crassa and Aspergillus nidulans have for other areas of cell and molecular biology. However, methods in recombinant DNA technology are making significant contributions to the study of plant diseases caused by fungi, and progress in several host—pathogen systems has been rapid in recent years. The goal of this chapter is to consider recent progress and prospects for future developments in understanding the genes which fungi employ in inciting plant disease.
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Garber, R.C. (1991). Molecular Approaches to the Analysis of Pathogenicity Genes from Fungi Causing Plant Disease. In: Cole, G.T., Hoch, H.C. (eds) The Fungal Spore and Disease Initiation in Plants and Animals. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-2635-7_22
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