Powdery mildew (Podosphaera aphanis) is a destructive and widespread disease of strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa), especially when susceptible cultivars are grown in high plastic tunnels or glasshouses. Many powdery mildews thrive humid environments but free water films on plant surfaces can inhibit conidial germination some species. We hypothesized that P. aphanis might be directly suppressed b...

Powdery mildews are major diseases for a range of crops. The loss function specific Mildew Locus O (MLO) genes has long been associated with pre-haustorial plant resistance to powdery mildew and proven be durable in several species. Erysiphe pisi is the causal agent pea (Pisum sativum L.) closely related Lathyrus sativus L. cicera PsMLO1 extensively studied pea. However, no MLO gene family memb...

Powdery mildews and other obligate biotrophic pathogens are highly adapted to their hosts and often show limited host ranges. One facet of such host specialization is likely to be penetration of the host cell wall, a major barrier to infection. A mutation in the pmr5 gene rendered Arabidopsis resistant to the powdery mildew species Erysiphe cichoracearum and Erysiphe orontii, but not to the unr...

The Rar1 gene, identified in the context of race-specific powdery mildew resistance mediated by the Hordeum vulgare (barley) resistance (R) gene Mla12, is required for the function of many R-mediated defense responses in mono- and dicotyledonous plant species. Mla resistance is associated with an oxidative burst and a subsequent cell death reaction of attacked cells. Rar1 mutants are impaired i...

Powdery mildews, obligate biotrophic fungal parasites on a wide range of important crops, can be controlled by plant resistance (R) genes, but these are rapidly overcome by parasite mutants evading recognition. It is unknown how this rapid evolution occurs without apparent loss of parasite fitness. R proteins recognize avirulence (AVR) molecules from parasites in a gene-for-gene manner and trig...