Multihost compatibility of Fusarium oxysporum: early root colonization effectors into the action!

Abstract

Agricultural productivity is greatly afected by several biotic factors which include insects, nematodes, bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Fungal pathogens in particular are a major setback to optimum crop production. A fungal species causing huge agro-economic losses world-wide is the Fusarium oxysporum (Fo) species complex. Fo is known to cause cross-kingdom infections in plants and humans (Zhang et al. 2020). In plants, it causes vascular wilt in several species; however, any particular Fo formae speciales (Fo f. sp.) can cause symptomatic infection on one or a few related species by invading their vasculature. Some important Fo f. sp. include apii, conglutinans, cubense, lycopersici, and melongena (Arie 2019). These strains can also survive in the root cortex of other hosts without invading the vasculature resulting in asymptomatic root colonization. A study by Redkar et al. has revealed that such an endophytic growth in multiple hosts is regulated by a group of conserved fungal efectors known as early root colonization (ERC) efectors.