AUTHOR=Mapuranga Johannes , Zhang Lirong , Zhang Na , Yang Wenxiang 

TITLE=The haustorium: The root of biotrophic fungal pathogens

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=Volume 13 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2022.963705

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2022.963705

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=One of the primary causes of agricultural losses is biotrophic plant pathogenic fungi. The haustorium is a sophisticated infection structure of the biotrophic fungal plant pathogens essential for nutrient acquisition from the host as well as effector protein secretion and delivery of the effectors into the host. The haustorium is separated from the invaginated membrane by an interfacial matrix. Relatively, few pathogenicity genes associated with biotrophy have been found. This review provides an overview of the haustorium structure and functions, including the most recent haustorial transcriptome studies. Although molecular studies have greatly improved our knowledge of this structure, there are still several questions to be answered in this area.