Solanaceous vegetables and Fusarium oxysporum interactions: pathogen genomics, pathogenesis, host resistance, and emerging microbiome-driven disease management

Solanaceous vegetables are continuously threatened by Fusarium wilt disease, which is mainly caused by Fusarium oxysporum (Fo), a fungal species complex comprising many devastating soil-borne pathogens, resulting in severe yield losses worldwide. Over the past decade, significant and numerous advances have been made in dissecting the molecular and genomic basis underlying the interaction between solanaceous vegetables and Fo, particularly owing to the emergence of the tomato-Fo pathosystem as a powerful model system for studying the molecular basis of resistance and susceptibility in solanaceous vegetables against vascular wilt pathogens. In this review, we summarize recent advances driven by improvements in genome sequencing and assembly of Fo infecting solanaceous vegetables, the virulence strategies and diverse arsenals employed by Fo to modulate and suppress host immunity, as well as the identification and functional characterization of race-specific resistance genes in solanaceous vegetables and their corresponding Fo determinants. We address the potential downstream signaling pathways involved in activating solanaceous vegetable immunity against Fo. In addition, we explore emerging insights into microbiome-based strategies for disease control, emphasizing the potential use of beneficial and synthetic microbes in the sustainable management of Fusarium wilt in tomato. Collectively, this review provides an integrated perspective on pathogen genomics, pathogenesis, host resistance, and microbiome-driven control of Fusarium wilt in tomato, offering promising avenues for developing durable and broad-spectrum resistance against various Fo strains in solanaceous vegetables.