Cladosporium fulvum (syn. Passalora fulva), a highly specialized plant pathogen as a model for functional studies on plant pathogenic Mycosphaerellaceae

Abstract

Taxonomy: Cladosporium fulvum is an asexual fungus for which no sexual stage is currently known. Molecular data, however, support C. fulvum as a member of the Mycosphaerellaceae, clustering with other taxa having Mycosphaerella teleomorphs. C. fulvum has recently been placed in the anamorph genus Passalora as P. fulva. Its taxonomic disposition is supported by its DNA phylogeny, as well as the distinct scars on its conidial hila, which are typical of Passalora, and unlike Cladosporium s.s., which has teleomorphs that reside in Davidiella, and not Mycosphaerella. Host range and disease symptoms: The presently known sole host of C. fulvum is tomato (members of the genusiycopersicon). C. fulvum is mainly a foliar pathogen. Disease symptoms are most obvious on the abaxial side of the leaf and include patches of white mould that turn brown upon sporulation. Due to stomatal clogging, curling of leaves and wilting can occur, leading to defoliation. C. fulvum as a model pathogen: The interaction between C. fulvum and tomato is governed by a gene-for-gene relationship. A total of eight Avr and Ecp genes, and for four of these also the corresponding plant Cf genes, have been cloned. Obtaining conclusive evidence for gene-for-gene relationships is complicated by the poor availability of genetic tools for most Mycosphaerellaceae-plant interactions. Newly developed tools, including Agrobacterium-medialed transformation and RNAi, added to the genome sequence of its host tomato, which will be available within a few years, render C. fulvum attractive as a model species for plant pathogenic Mycosphaerellaceae. Useful websites: http://www.sgn.cornell.edu/help/about/ index.html; http://cogeme.ex.ac.uk © 2005 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.