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Infection Process and Fungal Virulence Factors

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Botrytis – the Fungus, the Pathogen and its Management in Agricultural Systems

Abstract

The knowledge about the molecular mechanisms underlying Botrytis cinerea attack on susceptible hosts has expanded greatly in the last years. While many details are still missing, it is possible now to generate a higher resolution image of the molecular patterns that regulate pathogenic development of this broad host range necrotroph. Several decades of molecular research, including the complete genome sequencing and analyses of two B. cinerea strains, have culminated into a working model outlining the molecular strategy used by B. cinerea in the infection process. It is now apparent that a complex signalling network regulates secretion of a large set of proteins and phytotoxic secondary metabolites, which are necessary for progression of the infection from the early to late stages. Furthermore, manipulation of the plant hyper-sensitive response (HR), a form of programmed cell death (PCD), has been proposed to play a central role in the pathogenic strategy of B. cinerea. Although the molecular details of this aspect are largely uncharacterized, it is possible that some of the secreted proteins and metabolites function as effectors that target the PCD machinery. The virulence factors that have been revealed in these various categories and in others are reviewed in this chapter, with special emphasis on secreted proteins and PCD.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. U.D. Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Universidad de La Laguna, 38206, La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain

    Celedonio González & Nélida Brito

  2. Department of Molecular Biology and Ecology of Plants, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 69978, Israel

    Amir Sharon

Authors
  1. Celedonio González
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  2. Nélida Brito
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  3. Amir Sharon
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Nélida Brito or Amir Sharon .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centre de Versailles-Grignon, INRA, Thiverval-Grignon, France

    Sabine Fillinger

  2. Dept. Plant Path. and Weed Res., ARO, Bet Dagan, Israel

    Yigal Elad

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González, C., Brito, N., Sharon, A. (2016). Infection Process and Fungal Virulence Factors. In: Fillinger, S., Elad, Y. (eds) Botrytis – the Fungus, the Pathogen and its Management in Agricultural Systems. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-23371-0_12

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