Fusarium oxysporum: Genomics, diversity and plant-host interaction

Abstract

Fusarium oxysporum is amongst the most important and diverse phytopathogenic fungi infecting almost 150 plant species, pathogen of each being specific and identified as formae speciales. It is a broad host range pathogen employing various infection strategies. Considering the economic importance and availability of sequenced genomes of several Fusarium species, its interaction with plant host is under intense investigation. Comparative genomics of four Fusarium species (Fusarium graminearum, Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. lycopersici, Fusarium solani and Fusarium verticillioides) have led to identification of basic and specialized/dynamic pathogenicity genes that confer host specialization. Fungal pathogenicity mechanisms, rapid emergence of pathogenic lineages and polyphyletic origins of host specialization have been identified but regulation of host and tissue specificity is still not known. Although comparative genomics, transcriptomics and proteomic analysis have greatly accelerated the identification of fungal functional genes, but assigning definitive roles is still a challenging task.