Project description:Worldwide, 20-25% of all harvested fruit and vegetables are lost annually in the field and throughout the postharvest supply handling chain due to spoilage by fungal pathogens. Most impactful postharvest pathogens exhibit necrotrophic lifestyles, resulting in rotting of the host tissues and complete loss of marketable commodities. Necrotrophic fungi can readily infect ripe fruit leading to the rapid establishment of disease symptoms. However, these pathogens generally fail to infect unripe fruit, or remain quiescent until host and environmental conditions stimulate a successful infection. Current research on necrotrophic infections of fruit was mainly focused on the host by characterizing genetic and physicochemical factors that inhibit or promote the disease. However, the pathogenicity and virulence strategies employed by necrotrophic pathogens in ripe and unripe fruit are mostly understudied. Here, we provide a first comparative transcriptomics study of fungal postharvest pathogens: Botrytis cinerea, Rhizopus stolonifer and Fusarium acuminatum, all of which display necrotrophic behavior when infecting fruit. We de novo assembled and annotated the transcriptomes of R. stolonifer, and F. acuminatum and performed a differential gene expression analysis comparing the three fungal transcriptomes during fruit infection with that of fungal in-vitro growth. Analysis of the differentially expressed genes for enrichment of functional annotations revealed shared strategies of the three fungi during infection of compatible (ripe fruit) and incompatible (unripe fruit) hosts. We furthermore selected candidate genes that are involved in these strategies to characterize their expression during infection of unripe and ripe-like fruit of the non-ripening (nor) tomato mutant, both of which are physiologically and biochemically similar to unripe wildtype fruit. By enabling a better understanding of fungal necrotrophic infection strategies, we move closer to generating accurate models of fruit diseases and development of early detection tools and effective management strategies.
Project description:Worldwide, 20-25% of all harvested fruit and vegetables are lost annually in the field and throughout the postharvest supply chain due to rotting by fungal pathogens. Most postharvest pathogens exhibit necrotrophic or saprotrophic lifestyles, resulting in decomposition of the host tissues and loss of marketable commodities. Necrotrophic fungi can readily infect ripe fruit leading to the rapid establishment of disease symptoms. However, these pathogens generally fail to infect unripe fruit or remain quiescent until host conditions stimulate a successful infection. Previous research on infections of fruit has mainly been focused on the host's genetic and physicochemical factors that inhibit or promote disease. Here, we investigated if fruit pathogens can modify their own infection strategies in response to the ripening stage of the host. To test this hypothesis, we profiled global gene expression of three fungal pathogens that display necrotrophic behavior-Botrytis cinerea, Fusarium acuminatum, and Rhizopus stolonifer-during interactions with unripe and ripe tomato fruit. We assembled and functionally annotated the transcriptomes of F. acuminatum and R. stolonifer as no genomic resources were available. Then, we conducted differential gene expression analysis to compare each pathogen during inoculations versus in vitro conditions. Through characterizing patterns of overrepresented pathogenicity and virulence functions (e.g., phytotoxin production, cell wall degradation, and proteolysis) among the differentially expressed genes, we were able to determine shared strategies among the three fungi during infections of compatible (ripe) and incompatible (unripe) fruit tissues. Though each pathogen's strategy differed in the details, interactions with unripe fruit were commonly characterized by an emphasis on the degradation of cell wall components, particularly pectin, while colonization of ripe fruit featured more heavily redox processes, proteolysis, metabolism of simple sugars, and chitin biosynthesis. Furthermore, we determined that the three fungi were unable to infect fruit from the non-ripening (nor) tomato mutant, confirming that to cause disease, these pathogens require the host tissues to undergo specific ripening processes. By enabling a better understanding of fungal necrotrophic infection strategies, we move closer to generating accurate models of fruit diseases and the development of early detection tools and effective management strategies.
Project description:Tomato fruit ripening is associated with a dramatic increase in susceptibility to the fungal pathogen Botrytis cinerea, the causal agent of gray mold. Mature green fruit, prior to ripening, are largely resistant to B. cinerea, whereas red fruit, at the end of ripening, are susceptible to B. cinerea infection. We used microarrays to detail the gene expression changes that are induced by B. cinerea when tomato fruit at unripe and ripe stages are infected. Keywords: plant responses to pathogens
Project description:This research aimed to develop a rapid and nondestructive method to model the growth and discrimination of spoilage fungi, like Botrytis cinerea, Rhizopus stolonifer and Colletotrichum acutatum, based on hyperspectral imaging system (HIS). A hyperspectral imaging system was used to measure the spectral response of fungi inoculated on potato dextrose agar plates and stored at 28°C and 85% RH. The fungi were analyzed every 12 h over two days during growth, and optimal simulation models were built based on HIS parameters. The results showed that the coefficients of determination (R2) of simulation models for testing datasets were 0.7223 to 0.9914, and the sum square error (SSE) and root mean square error (RMSE) were in a range of 2.03-53.40×10(-4) and 0.011-0.756, respectively. The correlation coefficients between the HIS parameters and colony forming units of fungi were high from 0.887 to 0.957. In addition, fungi species was discriminated by partial least squares discrimination analysis (PLSDA), with the classification accuracy of 97.5% for the test dataset at 36 h. The application of this method in real food has been addressed through the analysis of Botrytis cinerea, Rhizopus stolonifer and Colletotrichum acutatum inoculated in peaches, demonstrating that the HIS technique was effective for simulation of fungal infection in real food. This paper supplied a new technique and useful information for further study into modeling the growth of fungi and detecting fruit spoilage caused by fungi based on HIS.
Project description:Tomato fruit ripening is associated with a dramatic increase in susceptibility to the fungal pathogen Botrytis cinerea, the causal agent of gray mold. Mature green fruit, prior to ripening, are largely resistant to B. cinerea, whereas red fruit, at the end of ripening, are susceptible to B. cinerea infection. We used microarrays to detail the gene expression changes that are induced by B. cinerea when tomato fruit at unripe and ripe stages are infected. Experiment Overall Design: Tomato fruit at mature green and red ripe stages were wound inoculated with a water suspension of B. cinerea conidia. Twenty four hours post inoculation fruit pericarp and epicarp tissue around and including the inoculation sites was collected and the total RNA extracted. Total RNA was also collected from healthy and mock inoculated fruit.
Project description:Postharvest fungal pathogens benefit from the increased host susceptibility that occurs during fruit ripening. In unripe fruit, pathogens often remain quiescent and unable to cause disease until ripening begins, emerging at this point into destructive necrotrophic lifestyles that quickly result in fruit decay. Here, we demonstrate that one such pathogen, Botrytis cinerea, actively induces ripening processes in order to facilitate infections and promote disease. Assessments of ripening progression revealed that B. cinerea accelerated external coloration, ethylene production, and softening in unripe fruit, while mRNA sequencing of inoculated unripe fruit confirmed the corresponding upregulation of host genes involved in ripening processes, such as ethylene biosynthesis and cell wall degradation. Furthermore, ELISA-based glycomics profiling of fruit cell wall polysaccharides revealed remarkable similarities in the cell wall polysaccharide changes caused by both infections of unripe fruit and ripening of healthy fruit, particularly in the increased accessibility of pectin polysaccharides. Virulence and additional ripening assessment experiments with B. cinerea knockout mutants showed that induction of ripening is dependent on the ability to infect the host and break down pectin. The B. cinerea double knockout Δbcpg1Δbcpg2 lacking two critical pectin degrading enzymes was found to be incapable of emerging from quiescence even long after the fruit had ripened at its own pace, suggesting that the failure to accelerate ripening severely inhibits fungal survival on unripe fruit. These findings demonstrate that active induction of ripening in unripe tomato fruit is an important infection strategy for B. cinerea.
Project description:The cell wall is among the first plant structures encountered by necrotrophic fungal pathogens, such as Botrytis cinerea. The composition of plant cell walls varies depending on the species, type of cell or tissue, and stage of development. Cell walls are important reservoirs of energy-rich sugars for pathogens, but also are barriers that impair colonization of host tissues. Growing fungal hyphae secrete enzymes that hydrolyze cell wall polysaccharides. Degradation of wall polysaccharides provides nutrients for the pathogen and improves the access of secreted Botrytis enzymes to all host cell wall targets and cytoplasmic constituents. Destruction of host cell walls results in tissue maceration, a hallmark of diseases caused by Botrytis. The Botrytis genome encodes 1,155 predicted carbohydrate-active enzyme (CAZy) genes; products of 275 are potentially secreted. Transcriptome sequencing identified Botrytis CAZy genes expressed during infections of lettuce leaves, ripe tomato fruit and grape berries. On all three hosts, Botrytis expresses a common group of 229 predicted CAZy genes including 28 pectin-modifying enzymes, 21 hemicellulose-modifying proteins, 18 enzymes targeting pectin and hemicellulose side-branches, and 16 enzymes that may degrade cellulose. Pectin polysaccharides are abundant in grape and tomato cell walls, but lettuce leaf walls are predominantly hemicelluloses and cellulose. These results suggest that Botrytis targets similar wall polysaccharide networks; e.g., pectins, on leaves and fruit, but also attacks unique host wall polysaccharide substrates The diversity of the Botrytis CAZy proteins may be partly responsible for its wide host range. 3 biological replicates consisting of groups of infected tomato fruits from different plants
Project description:The cell wall is among the first plant structures encountered by necrotrophic fungal pathogens, such as Botrytis cinerea. The composition of plant cell walls varies depending on the species, type of cell or tissue, and stage of development. Cell walls are important reservoirs of energy-rich sugars for pathogens, but also are barriers that impair colonization of host tissues. Growing fungal hyphae secrete enzymes that hydrolyze cell wall polysaccharides. Degradation of wall polysaccharides provides nutrients for the pathogen and improves the access of secreted Botrytis enzymes to all host cell wall targets and cytoplasmic constituents. Destruction of host cell walls results in tissue maceration, a hallmark of diseases caused by Botrytis. The Botrytis genome encodes 1,155 predicted carbohydrate-active enzyme (CAZy) genes; products of 275 are potentially secreted. Transcriptome sequencing identified Botrytis CAZy genes expressed during infections of lettuce leaves, ripe tomato fruit and grape berries. On all three hosts, Botrytis expresses a common group of 229 predicted CAZy genes including 28 pectin-modifying enzymes, 21 hemicellulose-modifying proteins, 18 enzymes targeting pectin and hemicellulose side-branches, and 16 enzymes that may degrade cellulose. Pectin polysaccharides are abundant in grape and tomato cell walls, but lettuce leaf walls are predominantly hemicelluloses and cellulose. These results suggest that Botrytis targets similar wall polysaccharide networks; e.g., pectins, on leaves and fruit, but also attacks unique host wall polysaccharide substrates The diversity of the Botrytis CAZy proteins may be partly responsible for its wide host range. 4 biological replicates consisting of groups of infected berries from different plants
Project description:The cell wall is among the first plant structures encountered by necrotrophic fungal pathogens, such as Botrytis cinerea. The composition of plant cell walls varies depending on the species, type of cell or tissue, and stage of development. Cell walls are important reservoirs of energy-rich sugars for pathogens, but also are barriers that impair colonization of host tissues. Growing fungal hyphae secrete enzymes that hydrolyze cell wall polysaccharides. Degradation of wall polysaccharides provides nutrients for the pathogen and improves the access of secreted Botrytis enzymes to all host cell wall targets and cytoplasmic constituents. Destruction of host cell walls results in tissue maceration, a hallmark of diseases caused by Botrytis. The Botrytis genome encodes 1,155 predicted carbohydrate-active enzyme (CAZy) genes; products of 275 are potentially secreted. Transcriptome sequencing identified Botrytis CAZy genes expressed during infections of lettuce leaves, ripe tomato fruit and grape berries. On all three hosts, Botrytis expresses a common group of 229 predicted CAZy genes including 28 pectin-modifying enzymes, 21 hemicellulose-modifying proteins, 18 enzymes targeting pectin and hemicellulose side-branches, and 16 enzymes that may degrade cellulose. Pectin polysaccharides are abundant in grape and tomato cell walls, but lettuce leaf walls are predominantly hemicelluloses and cellulose. These results suggest that Botrytis targets similar wall polysaccharide networks; e.g., pectins, on leaves and fruit, but also attacks unique host wall polysaccharide substrates The diversity of the Botrytis CAZy proteins may be partly responsible for its wide host range.
Project description:The cell wall is among the first plant structures encountered by necrotrophic fungal pathogens, such as Botrytis cinerea. The composition of plant cell walls varies depending on the species, type of cell or tissue, and stage of development. Cell walls are important reservoirs of energy-rich sugars for pathogens, but also are barriers that impair colonization of host tissues. Growing fungal hyphae secrete enzymes that hydrolyze cell wall polysaccharides. Degradation of wall polysaccharides provides nutrients for the pathogen and improves the access of secreted Botrytis enzymes to all host cell wall targets and cytoplasmic constituents. Destruction of host cell walls results in tissue maceration, a hallmark of diseases caused by Botrytis. The Botrytis genome encodes 1,155 predicted carbohydrate-active enzyme (CAZy) genes; products of 275 are potentially secreted. Transcriptome sequencing identified Botrytis CAZy genes expressed during infections of lettuce leaves, ripe tomato fruit and grape berries. On all three hosts, Botrytis expresses a common group of 229 predicted CAZy genes including 28 pectin-modifying enzymes, 21 hemicellulose-modifying proteins, 18 enzymes targeting pectin and hemicellulose side-branches, and 16 enzymes that may degrade cellulose. Pectin polysaccharides are abundant in grape and tomato cell walls, but lettuce leaf walls are predominantly hemicelluloses and cellulose. These results suggest that Botrytis targets similar wall polysaccharide networks; e.g., pectins, on leaves and fruit, but also attacks unique host wall polysaccharide substrates The diversity of the Botrytis CAZy proteins may be partly responsible for its wide host range.