Populus species, key feedstocks in the bioeconomy, are severely impacted by leaf spot and stem canker caused by Sphaerulina musiva. This disease diminishes biomass, reduces wood quality, and increases tree mortality, jeopardizing industrial sustainability. Invasion of S. musiva into naïve ecosystems exacerbates these challenges by disrupting ecosystem processes. Breeding resistant poplar genotypes has been the primary strategy to combat this pathogen, but it has remained unclear which molecular drivers of infection breeders should target. Our study makes a significant advance by identifying a key necrotrophic effector that increases S. musiva virulence in specific Populus genotypes. We identify clade-specific gene-family expansions of this effector that raise questions about the function of closely related genes. Our research elucidates the ecology and evolution of a small-secreted protein across the fungal kingdom while offering insights that enable host-breeding efforts to reduce the economic impact of S. musiva.
Søndreli et al. (Thu,) studied this question.
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