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Genome analysis of Phytophthora cactorum strains associated with crown- and leather-rot in strawberry

Summary

Strawberry farmers face two serious diseases caused by a water-mold pathogen: crown rot that kills the whole plant and leather rot that spoils the fruit. Scientists sequenced the DNA of different disease-causing strains to understand why some strains can infect only fruit while others destroy the entire plant. They found that highly virulent strains have specific genetic changes in genes that help the pathogen escape the plant’s immune system, which could help develop better disease control strategies.

Background

Phytophthora cactorum is a soil-borne oomycete pathogen that causes two distinct diseases in strawberry: crown rot (affecting crown and fruit tissues) and leather rot (affecting only fruits). Both diseases cause substantial economic losses in strawberry production, with limited control options due to fungicide resistance and regulatory restrictions.

Objective

To identify genetic differences between crown rot and leather rot pathotypes of P. cactorum and understand the mechanisms of tissue-specific colonization through comparative genomic analysis of high virulence crown rot, low virulence crown rot, and leather rot strains using advanced sequencing technology.

Results

Five highly contiguous genome assemblies (66.4-67.6 Mb) with 17,286-17,398 predicted genes were generated. Comparative analysis identified differences in virulence effectors (RxLR and Crinkler proteins) between pathotypes, with insertions, deletions, and amino acid substitutions in genes encoding putative elicitors (beta elicitin and cellulose-binding domain proteins) in leather rot strains compared to highly virulent crown rot strain.

Conclusion

The identified genomic differences in virulence effectors and elicitors suggest potential mechanisms for tissue-specific colonization and pathotype-specific infection patterns in P. cactorum. These findings highlight candidate effector genes that may facilitate understanding and control of both crown rot and leather rot diseases in strawberry.
  • Published in:Frontiers in Microbiology,
  • Study Type:Genomic Comparative Analysis,
  • Source: PMID: 37465018
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