Assessing the effects of light on differentiation and virulence of the plant pathogen Botrytis cinerea: characterization of the White Collar Complex.

ABSTRACT: Organisms are exposed to a tough environment, where acute daily challenges, like light, can strongly affect several aspects of an individual's physiology, including pathogenesis. While several fungal models have been widely employed to understand the physiological and molecular events associated with light perception, various other agricultural-relevant fungi still remain, in terms of their responsiveness to light, in the dark. The fungus Botrytis cinerea is an aggressive pathogen able to cause disease on a wide range of plant species. Natural B. cinerea isolates exhibit a high degree of diversity in their predominant mode of reproduction. Thus, the majority of naturally occurring strains are known to reproduce asexually via conidia and sclerotia, and sexually via apothecia. Studies from t

SUBMITTER: Canessa P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3877267 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature