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Advances in Plant–Fungal Pathogen Interaction—2nd Edition
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Advances in Plant–Fungal Pathogen Interaction—2nd Edition

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Protection and Biotic Interactions".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 April 2026) | Viewed by 4418

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Carlos Garrido

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Guest Editor
Departamento de Biomedicina, Biotecnología y Salud Pública, Laboratorio de Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias del Mar y Ambientales, Universidad de Cádiz, 11510 Puerto Real, Spain
Interests: plant pathogens; pathogenic fungi; endophytic microorganisms; Botrytis cinerea; molecular biology of microorganisms
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Victoria E. González-Rodríguez

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Guest Editor
Departamento de Biomedicina, Biotecnología y Salud Pública, Laboratorio de Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias del Mar y Ambientales, Universidad de Cádiz, 11510 Puerto Real, Spain
Interests: plant pathogens; pathogenic fungi; endophytic microorganisms; Botrytis cinerea; molecular biology of microorganisms
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Hernando José Bolivar Anillo

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Guest Editor
Programa de Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias Básicas y Biomédicas, Universidad Simón Bolívar, Barranquilla 080002, Colombia
Interests: environmental sustainability; water and soil pollution; microbiological quality of water
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Fungal pathogens are widely recognized for their destructive impact, causing economically significant diseases in a broad range of plants—including greenhouse crops, ornamentals, and field crops—during cultivation, storage, and distribution. In recent years, major advances in fungal biology at the genetic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic levels have deepened our understanding of these pathogens. These developments have enabled the identification of genes associated with pathogenicity and virulence, as well as the proteins, toxins, and other metabolites secreted by fungi to facilitate infection.

While in vitro studies have provided valuable insights, there is a growing emphasis on in vivo experiments that better reflect real-world conditions, allowing researchers to observe plant defense mechanisms in action.

This Special Issue of Plants, titled “Advances in Plant–Fungal Pathogen Interaction—2nd Edition”, invites contributions from research groups investigating the infection strategies of fungal pathogens and the defense responses of host plants. We welcome studies across all plant systems—greenhouse, ornamental, and field crops—using genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic approaches to explore these complex interactions.

Dr. Carlos Garrido
Dr. Victoria E. González-Rodríguez
Prof. Dr. Hernando José Bolivar Anillo
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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. Plants is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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

  • fungal pathogens
  • plant interactions
  • pathogenicity factors
  • virulence genes
  • disease
  • infection
  • proteome
  • secondary metabolites
  • toxins
  • biocontrol

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 856 KB  
Article
Preliminary Study of Main Pathogenicity Factors and Metabolites of Wilsonomyces carpophilus
by Ziyan Xu, Hailong Lu, Chenxu Luo, Chuli Liu, Xinmei Zhou and Rong Ma
Plants 2026, 15(8), 1202; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants15081202 - 14 Apr 2026
Viewed by 209
Abstract
Shot-hole disease caused by Wilsonomyces carpophilus poses a significant threat to stone fruit species, including wild apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.). This study investigated pathogenic factors (cell wall-degrading enzymes and toxins) and metabolites produced by a highly pathogenic strain (CFCC 71544) and a [...] Read more.
Shot-hole disease caused by Wilsonomyces carpophilus poses a significant threat to stone fruit species, including wild apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.). This study investigated pathogenic factors (cell wall-degrading enzymes and toxins) and metabolites produced by a highly pathogenic strain (CFCC 71544) and a weakly pathogenic strain (CFCC 71543) of W. carpophilus during infection of P. armeniaca (in planta conditions). Analysis using the 3,5-dinitrosalicylic acid colorimetric method revealed that polygalacturonase (CFCC 71544: 1367.02 U/g; CFCC 71543: 1264.00 U/g) and polymethylgalacturonase (CFCC 71544: 1898.71 U·g−1; CFCC 71543: 1762.21 U·g−1) were the most active cell wall-degrading enzymes, with higher activities observed in the highly pathogenic strain (CFCC 71544). Crude toxins from CFCC 71543 induced leaf lesions averaging 41.91 mm2 and retained activity after exposure to 121 °C and UV treatment. Non-protein fractions of the toxins caused significantly larger lesions than protein fractions (15.93 mm2 vs. 5.56 mm2, respectively). Building on these in planta findings, we further characterized toxin properties under controlled laboratory conditions (in vitro). Optimal toxin production conditions were identified in Richard culture medium at pH 4, under a 12 h light/dark cycle, shaken for 12 days at 25 °C. Untargeted metabolomics identified 3244 compounds and 977 differential metabolites among mycelia, crude toxins, and the residual aqueous phase after organic solvent extraction; these metabolites were predominantly amino acids and derivatives and organic acids. These findings indicate that the main pathogenic factors of W. carpophilus are highly active polygalacturonase and heat/UV-stable, water-soluble, non-protein toxins, providing a theoretical basis for shot-hole disease prevention and control. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Plant–Fungal Pathogen Interaction—2nd Edition)
18 pages, 2459 KB  
Article
Study on the Susceptibility of Some Almond (Prunus dulcis) Cultivars to the Pathogen Diaporthe amygdali
by Pompea Gabriella Lucchese, Naïma Dlalah, Amélie Buisine, Franco Nigro, Stefania Pollastro and Henri Duval
Plants 2026, 15(1), 165; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants15010165 - 5 Jan 2026
Viewed by 925
Abstract
Diaporthe amygdali Delacr. is a phytopathogenic fungus of considerable agronomic importance, responsible for branch canker in almond (Prunus dulcis [Mill.] D.A. Webb) and peach (Prunus persica L.) trees. It represents a major phytosanitary threat to almond cultivation in Europe, particularly in [...] Read more.
Diaporthe amygdali Delacr. is a phytopathogenic fungus of considerable agronomic importance, responsible for branch canker in almond (Prunus dulcis [Mill.] D.A. Webb) and peach (Prunus persica L.) trees. It represents a major phytosanitary threat to almond cultivation in Europe, particularly in Mediterranean regions. Almond is currently among the most rapidly expanding perennial crops, with cultivated areas increasing as a result of the introduction of new cultivars and the adoption of improved agronomic practices. The objectives of this study were to isolate and identify fungal pathogens from infected almond samples collected in France through multilocus phylogenetic analyses (ITS, tef1-α, his3, tub2, cal genes) combined with morphological characterization; evaluate the susceptibility of 18 almond genotypes, using ‘Ferragnès’ and ‘Texas’ as reference standards for susceptibility and tolerance, respectively; and compare three field inoculation methods. All isolates were identified as D. amygdali. The varietal screening identified marked differences in resistance among the tested cultivars. In particular, ‘Ferrastar’, ‘R1877’, ‘R1413’, and ‘R1542’ exhibited high levels of resistance, whereas ‘Tuono’, ‘Guara’, and ‘R1568’ showed susceptibility comparable to that of ‘Ferragnès’, which was used as the susceptible control. Among the inoculation methods evaluated, the mycelial plug technique proved to be the most consistent and reliable, outperforming both conidial suspension inoculation and the toothpick method coated with mycelium. These findings further confirm the genetic resistance of the cultivars ‘Ferrastar’ and ‘Ardèchoise’ to branch canker across different growing conditions, supporting their suitability for use in breeding and genetic improvement programs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Plant–Fungal Pathogen Interaction—2nd Edition)
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15 pages, 776 KB  
Article
In Vitro and Field Effectiveness of the Combination of Four Trichoderma spp. Against Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and Its Impact on Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) Crop Production
by Gabriel Herrera-Rodriguez, Ruben Felix-Gastelum, Maria Belen Irazoqui-Acosta, Sara Elodia Armenta-Lopez, Rosa Maria Longoria-Espinoza, Francisco Javier Orduño-Espinoza and Jessica Maria Parra-Parra
Plants 2026, 15(1), 156; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants15010156 - 4 Jan 2026
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 809
Abstract
White mold (Sclerotinia sclerotiorum) reduces potato yield and quality in Sinaloa, Mexico. This study first evaluated the in vitro efficacy of Trichoderma azevedoi, T. afroharzianum, T. asperellum and T. asperelloides in inhibiting S. sclerotiorum mycelial growth and sclerotia production. [...] Read more.
White mold (Sclerotinia sclerotiorum) reduces potato yield and quality in Sinaloa, Mexico. This study first evaluated the in vitro efficacy of Trichoderma azevedoi, T. afroharzianum, T. asperellum and T. asperelloides in inhibiting S. sclerotiorum mycelial growth and sclerotia production. Field experiments then assessed a combination of these antagonists, their alternating application with synthetic fungicides, and a fungicide-alone treatment for disease control, sclerotia reduction and yield increase. In vitro, all four Trichoderma species significantly inhibited the pathogen, achieving 60.1–63.1% mycelial suppression in dual culture and 90.3–94.1% via volatile metabolites, with the latter also completely suppressing sclerotia formation. In the field, the Trichoderma combination significantly controlled white mold, reducing plant incidence and severity to 66.0 and 27.1% in 2021 and 55.6 and 18.8% in 2022, while lowering sclerotia production to 32.7 and 14.6 on ten plants, respectively. This control extended to tubers, where incidence and severity were reduced to 1.6% and 0.4% in 2021, and 1.3% and 0.3% in 2022. The alternating application of Trichoderma with synthetic fungicides proved statistically equivalent to the Trichoderma-alone treatment in disease control, while the fungicides-alone treatment was significantly less effective. Potato yield was highest in plots treated with the Trichoderma combination (46.0 and 52.9 t ha−1 in 2021 and 2022, respectively). These results highlight the potential of using a mixture of these four Trichoderma species as a cornerstone of sustainable disease management in Sinaloa, offering effective control of potato white mold while significantly reducing dependence on synthetic fungicides. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Plant–Fungal Pathogen Interaction—2nd Edition)
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25 pages, 6377 KB  
Article
Increased Drought Stress Tolerance in Maize Seeds by Bacillus paralicheniformis Halotolerant Endophytes Isolated from Avicennia germinans
by Dinary Eloisa Durán-Sequeda, Zamira E. Soto-Valera, Ricardo Pizarro Castañeda, María José Torres, Luz Sandys Tobias, Claudia Vergel, Alejandra Paola Quintero Linero, Hernando José Bolívar-Anillo, Ricardo Amils and Maria Auxiliadora Iglesias-Navas
Plants 2026, 15(1), 143; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants15010143 - 4 Jan 2026
Viewed by 867
Abstract
Avicennia germinans, a representative of the marine coastal mangrove ecosystem, vital in the Colombian Caribbean, harbors a unique microbial diversity that could contain microorganisms with the potential to promote plant growth of agricultural species such as maize. The objective of this research [...] Read more.
Avicennia germinans, a representative of the marine coastal mangrove ecosystem, vital in the Colombian Caribbean, harbors a unique microbial diversity that could contain microorganisms with the potential to promote plant growth of agricultural species such as maize. The objective of this research was to evaluate A. germinans endophytes at different sampling sites and in diverse plant organs in order to identify the growth-promoting role of the most sodium chloride-tolerant endophyte found. These were then inoculated in maize seeds under drought stress conditions simulated by polyethylene glycol (PEG) in vitro. To this end, samples of adult A. germinans plants were collected from four mangrove ecosystems in the Colombian Caribbean. Several isolates were able to tolerate up to 15% NaCl (w/v), produce indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), show proteolytic activity, and inhibit phytopathogenic fungi. The best-performing strain, C1T-KM1901-B, was genomically identified as Bacillus paralicheniformis and evaluated as a bioinoculant in maize seeds under PEG-induced drought stress. Inoculation with B. paralicheniformis significantly increased germination potential and germination index of drought-resistant seeds compared to non-inoculated controls under severe drought stress conditions (40% PEG). In addition, inoculated seedlings exhibited significantly higher roots and shoot fresh and dry biomass at moderate to severe drought stress levels (15% and 20% PEG). These results are position B. paralicheniformis C1T-KM1901-B, isolated from Avicennia germinans, as a promising bioinoculant to enhance maize establishment under drought conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Plant–Fungal Pathogen Interaction—2nd Edition)
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17 pages, 2612 KB  
Article
Harnessing Genomics of Diaporthe amygdali for Improved Control of Peach Twig Canker and Shoot Blight (TCSB)
by Silvia Turco, Federico Brugneti, Antonella Cardacino and Angelo Mazzaglia
Plants 2025, 14(19), 2960; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14192960 - 24 Sep 2025
Viewed by 1063
Abstract
In recent years, symptoms of Twig Cankers and Shoot Blight (TCSB) have re-emerged in several Italian peach orchards, particularly within key production areas of the Emilia-Romagna region. The fungal pathogen Diaporthe amygdali is recognized as the primary causal agent of TCSB, leading to [...] Read more.
In recent years, symptoms of Twig Cankers and Shoot Blight (TCSB) have re-emerged in several Italian peach orchards, particularly within key production areas of the Emilia-Romagna region. The fungal pathogen Diaporthe amygdali is recognized as the primary causal agent of TCSB, leading to the rapid desiccation of shoots, flowers, leaves, and branches, often accompanied by resin exudation from cankers that appear in late winter or early spring. Given Italy’s position as the second-largest peach producer in Europe, ensuring sustainable yields and high fruit quality necessitates a deeper understanding of D. amygdali biology and the development of effective diagnostic and management tools. This study employed a hybrid whole-genome sequencing strategy, combining Illumina short-read and PacBio long-read technologies, to generate the first high-quality genome assembly of D. amygdali isolated from peach. The genome analysis revealed candidate virulence genes and other factors involved in pathogenicity, deepening our understanding of the infection strategies employed by D. amygdali. These findings may support the potential development of sustainable, effective strategies against TCSB, ultimately supporting resilient peach production in Italy and beyond. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Plant–Fungal Pathogen Interaction—2nd Edition)
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