Morphogenesis and infection in Botrytis cinerea

Abstract

Botrytis cinerea, the gray mold fungus, is a ubiquitous pathogen of high economic importance. Hence, its development and infection cycle have been well characterized over the years. Modern approaches using molecular methods and "omics" data now have opened new and fascinating perspectives on the molecular mechanisms involved in morphogenesis and development, and their relationship to the highly efficient pathogenic strategies used by this pathogen. This chapter focuses on recent data obtained by analyzing signaling cascades which influence morphogenesis and virulence, highlighting the plethora of open questions that still remain. The light-dependent regulation of development is discussed as a particular example of a highly interesting area of research in which the broad classical analyses are not yet substantiated by molecular investigations. © 2012 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.