Europe PMC · 2026-04-06
Two Fusarium fungi that rot garlic and onion crops carry different sets of infection proteins depending on which host plant they came from, suggesting they are specializing into distinct strains — a finding that could reshape how growers breed disease-resistant Allium crops.
Fusarium oxysporum isolates from onion caused severe disease in all three Allium species tested, while isolates from garlic caused only mild symptoms in onion and shallot.
The most virulent garlic isolate (Fo_VPRI44630) carried five putative effector genes: SIX9, SIX13, C5, CRX1, and CRX2, while onion-origin isolates carried up to ten including SIX3, SIX5, SIX7, SIX10, SIX12, and SIX14.
Differences in virulence and effector profiles between garlic- and onion-origin F. oxysporum suggest host-associated differentiation, supporting the case for formally designating them as separate formae speciales or races.
