About this Research Topic
Better known to wine connoisseurs as the “noble rot”, Botrytis cinerea is indeed an important plant pathogen with a very diverse host range, causing gray mold disease in over 1000 plant species, including most vegetable and fruit crops, trees, and flowers. It can attack many organs, including leaves, stems, and fruits, both in the field and after harvest, causing an estimated USD 100 billion of annual losses worldwide. For these reasons, and for its ability to also infect Arabidopsis thaliana, B. cinerea has become a model fungal necrotroph. Recent advances in genomics, transcriptomics and metabolomics methodologies have provided valuable tools to obtain a detailed view of the molecular aspects of B. cinerea interaction with its hosts, and of ecological and evolutionary features of field populations that might contribute to devise new strategies of control of this fungus.
With this Research Topic, we invite researchers to share the most recent advances in the understanding of Botrytis cinerea biology, genetics, and pathology, as well of the molecular and biochemical mechanisms determining the ability of host plants to restrict infection by this fungus. We also propose to showcase the most recent advances in biological control and in the development of plant varieties resistant to gray mould, with the final goal of developing sustainable and durable ways to reduce the impact of this pathogen on crop production.
Authors are invited to submit original work on all aspects of B. cinerea physiology, pathology and genetics, with particular emphasis on:
- Fungal virulence factors
- Fungal genetics and genomics, including studies of genetic diversity of natural populations, development of drug resistance and evolution of virulence factors
- Plant resistance and susceptibility factors, including secondary metabolites, mechanisms of regulation of oxidative stress responses and of cell death
- Plant signalling pathways involved in the interaction with B. cinerea, including pathogen perception and activation of immune responses, hormonal regulation of susceptibility, and interaction with abiotic stresses
- Advanced methods of control of B. cinerea, including agents of biocontrol, use of elicitors and priming agents, and interaction with endophytes and soil microorganisms
With this Research Topic, we invite researchers to share the most recent advances in the understanding of Botrytis cinerea biology, genetics, and pathology, as well of the molecular and biochemical mechanisms determining the ability of host plants to restrict infection by this fungus. We also propose to showcase the most recent advances in biological control and in the development of plant varieties resistant to gray mould, with the final goal of developing sustainable and durable ways to reduce the impact of this pathogen on crop production.
Authors are invited to submit original work on all aspects of B. cinerea physiology, pathology and genetics, with particular emphasis on:
- Fungal virulence factors
- Fungal genetics and genomics, including studies of genetic diversity of natural populations, development of drug resistance and evolution of virulence factors
- Plant resistance and susceptibility factors, including secondary metabolites, mechanisms of regulation of oxidative stress responses and of cell death
- Plant signalling pathways involved in the interaction with B. cinerea, including pathogen perception and activation of immune responses, hormonal regulation of susceptibility, and interaction with abiotic stresses
- Advanced methods of control of B. cinerea, including agents of biocontrol, use of elicitors and priming agents, and interaction with endophytes and soil microorganisms
Keywords: botrytis cinerea, fungi, pathogenesis, host plants, endophytes, soil microorganisms, biocontrol, hormonal regulation, fungal genetics
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
