BioProject

The Cladosporium fulvum-tomato interaction is a model for pathosystems that obey the gene-for-gene concept. More...

The Cladosporium fulvum-tomato interaction is a model for pathosystems that obey the gene-for-gene concept. This means that for every pathogen avirulence gene ( Avr ) there is a corresponding C. fulvum (Cf) tomato resistance gene that mediates recognition of the pathogen by the host. As a consequence of this recognition, a defense response is activated culminating in a hypersensitive response (a type of programmed cell death) that limits further growth of the fungal pathogen in tomato. Many Avr genes from C. fulvum, presently also called effector genes, have been identified, and for some of them the intrinsic function of the encoded protein has been assigned and studied in detail (Avr2, Avr4, Ecp2 and others). C. fulvum is a member of the Dothideomycetes, a class of fungi consisting of more than 3000 species. In recent years, the genomes of several of these species have been sequenced and based on sequence information it appears that C. fulvum is most related to Dothistroma septosporum (a pathogen of pine), Mycosphaerella populi (a pathogen of poplar), Mycosphaerella fijiensis (a pathogen of banana), and Mycosphaerella graminicola (a pathogen of wheat). Homologous effector genes have been identified in these species of which some appear species-specific, whereas others show a much broader occurrence in the fungal kingdom. Less...