woody-plant-disease
Woody plant disease encompasses the study of pathogens—including fungi, bacteria, viruses, and oomycetes—that infect trees and shrubs, disrupting vascular systems, bark integrity, and overall structural health. Understanding these diseases is critical for plant science because woody perennials form the backbone of forest ecosystems, orchards, and urban landscapes, meaning infections can cascade into large-scale ecological and economic losses. Research in this field drives advances in disease-resistant cultivar development, early detection methods, and integrated management strategies essential for protecting long-lived plant populations.
PubMed · 2026-04-06
Scientists mapped the 'infection toolkit' of a family of fungi that devastate woody plants worldwide, identifying core molecular tools these pathogens use across 25 species to disable plant defenses and cause disease.
Each of the 25 Botryosphaeriaceae fungal species carries between 56 and 183 candidate secreted effector proteins (CSEPs) — small proteins used to manipulate host plant immunity.
Conserved effector families (shared across species) are significantly outnumbered by diversified ones, and the conserved ones are likely inherited through normal reproduction while many diversified ones appear to have been acquired by swapping genes with other organisms (horizontal gene transfer).
Conserved effectors activate earlier and persist longer during host infection compared to diversified effectors, and experiments confirmed they actively suppress plant immune responses.