Plant Pathogens and Fungal Diseases

Fungi that infect plants range from overtly destructive pathogens to endophytes that live quietly inside host tissue, and understanding where a given species falls on that spectrum requires precise identification rooted in molecular and genomic evidence. Researchers use phylogenetic analysis and genomic characterization to resolve species boundaries, revise taxonomy, and trace how pathogenic lineages evolved alongside their hosts. A central open question is what determines host specificity — why some fungal species cause disease across a broad range of plants while others are tightly restricted to a single host genus. Answering this depends on integrating population genomics, functional studies of infection mechanisms, and expanded sampling of understudied ecosystems where cryptic species almost certainly remain undetected.

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253,425

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Keywords

Fungal PathogensEndophytic FungiPhylogenetic AnalysisGenomic CharacterizationPlant PathogenesisSpecies Recognition