Physiological and Molecular Plant Pathology最新文献

{"title":"Biological and chemical management of Meloidogyne incognita enhances biochemical defense responses in olive seedlings","authors":"Gharieb S. El-Sayyad,&nbsp;Eslam K. Kandil,&nbsp;Mohamed M. Nofel,&nbsp;Mohamed S. Attia","doi":"10.1016/j.pmpp.2026.103470","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pmpp.2026.103470","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Root-knot nematode (<em>Meloidogyne incognita</em>) is a major constraint to olive seedling production, causing severe yield and physiological losses. This study evaluated the efficacy of <em>Bacillus subtilis, Verticillium lecanii</em>, and the chemical nematicide Fosthiazate 90% under <em>In vitro</em> and greenhouse conditions. <em>In vitro</em>, assays showed that all treatments significantly increased juvenile mortality in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Fosthiazate was the most effective treatment, achieving 99.03% mortality at 100 ppm after 96 h. Among the biological agents, <em>Verticillium lecanii</em> exhibited greater nematicidal activity than <em>Bacillus subtilis</em>, reaching 49.11% mortality at 10⁹ CFU mL⁻¹ after 96 h, whereas <em>B. subtilis</em> caused 25.43% mortality at the same concentration and exposure period. Under greenhouse conditions, all treatments significantly reduced nematode infection parameters in olive seedlings. Fosthiazate resulted in the highest suppression of root galls (96.95%) and juvenile populations (99.02%). The combined treatment (<em>B. subtilis</em> + <em>V. lecanii</em>) showed strong synergistic effects, reducing galls and juveniles by 89.54% and 93.15%, respectively, outperforming individual bioagents. Nematode infection significantly reduced chlorophyll content and increased oxidative stress markers, including malondialdehyde (MDA) and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), whereas all treatments enhanced photosynthetic pigments, biochemical constituents, and the activities of peroxidase (POD) and polyphenol oxidase (PPO). The combined biological treatment produced the greatest stimulation of these defense-related enzymes while simultaneously reducing oxidative damage. Overall, fosthiazate exhibited the highest nematicidal efficacy, achieving 99.03% juvenile mortality <em>in vitro</em> and reducing root galls and soil juveniles by 96.95% and 99.02%, respectively, under greenhouse conditions. Nevertheless, the combined application of <em>Bacillus subtilis</em> P1MS and <em>Verticillium lecanii</em> 3411 provided substantial nematode suppression (89.54% reduction in root galls and 93.15% reduction in soil juveniles), highlighting its potential as an environmentally friendly alternative for sustainable nematode management. This study highlights the potential of the combined biological treatment as a sustainable alternative by integrating nematode suppression with physiological and biochemical responses in olive seedlings.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20046,"journal":{"name":"Physiological and Molecular Plant Pathology","volume":"145 ","pages":"Article 103470"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148934633","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Phenotypic race profiling and cytosine methylation – Related gene expression in chickpea – Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceris pathosystem","authors":"Talap Talapov ,&nbsp;Ahmed Rami AL-Saadi ,&nbsp;Olcay Dedecan ,&nbsp;Bahattin Tanyolac ,&nbsp;Canan Can","doi":"10.1016/j.pmpp.2026.103182","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pmpp.2026.103182","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div><em>Fusarium oxysporum</em> f. sp. <em>ciceris</em> is a soil-borne pathogen that causes significant yield losses in chickpea (<em>Cicer arietinum</em> L.) production worldwide. A total of eight well-defined <em>F. oxysporum</em> f. sp. <em>ciceris</em> races with distinct geographical distributions have been reported. In this study, phenotypic race profiling of <em>F. oxysporum</em> f. sp. <em>ciceris</em> isolates obtained from different production regions of Türkiye and the expression dynamics of methylation-related genes during the infection process was evaluated. Race determination was performed using differential chickpea genotypes based on disease severity index and area under the disease development curve values. Isolate–genotype interactions showed partial similarities with known race profiles; however none of the isolates fully matched existing race definitions. Therefore, based on resistant and susceptible reactions, the isolates were attributed to the race with the highest similarity and were defined as “race-like.” The possible reasons for these results are discussed and related hypotheses are proposed. Within the epigenetic component, the expression levels of Domain Rearranged Methyltransferase (<em>DRM2</em>), Demethylase (<em>DME1</em>), and Chromomethylase (<em>CMT2</em> and <em>CMT3</em>) genes in infected chickpea tissues, as well as Methyltransferase (<em>MT1</em> and <em>MT2</em>) genes in the pathogen, were analysed using RT-qPCR. The results showed time-dependent and isolate-specific expression changes in genes associated with methylation and demethylation pathways during infection. However, further studies are required to identify the direct targets and functional roles of the analysed genes. Along with hypotheses regarding the geographical origin of <em>F. oxysporum</em> f. sp. <em>ciceris</em>, the current study reports findings related to the epigenetic regulation of chickpea– <em>F. oxysporum</em> f. sp. <em>ciceris</em> pathogenesis and establishes a basis for future molecular and methylome-level investigations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20046,"journal":{"name":"Physiological and Molecular Plant Pathology","volume":"143 ","pages":"Article 103182"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147386470","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Functional RNAi response in Colletotrichum graminicola reveals potential for host-induced gene silencing against maize anthracnose","authors":"Raquel Pereira Passos Salgado ,&nbsp;Gabriel Angelo Saraiva Raimundo ,&nbsp;Lucas Romão Gava ,&nbsp;Andréa Almeida Carneiro ,&nbsp;Fernando Hercos Valicente ,&nbsp;Dagma Dionísia da Silva ,&nbsp;Luciano Viana Cota ,&nbsp;Meire de Cássia Alves ,&nbsp;André da Silva Xavier ,&nbsp;Newton Portilho Carneiro","doi":"10.1016/j.pmpp.2026.103161","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pmpp.2026.103161","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div><em>Colletotrichum graminicola</em> is a filamentous fungus that causes anthracnose disease in maize, leading to yield losses of up to 35%. RNA interference (RNAi) has been successfully employed to protect crops against phytopathogenic fungi through multiple approaches, demonstrating considerable efficiency in silencing target genes. In this study, it was evaluated RNAi-mediated silencing of <em>C. graminicola</em> chitin synthase genes (<em>CHSV</em> and <em>CHSVII</em>), two important structural components and the phosphopantetheinyl transferase gene (<em>PPT</em>) involved in the melanin biosynthesis pathway and directly associated with <em>C. graminicola</em> pathogenicity. In this work, it was also tested siRNA and dsRNA and topical applications in culture medium and detached maize leaves. The siRNAs in culture media proved more efficient in reducing transcripts levels compared to long dsRNAs; and in detached maize leaves it was observed the opposite. No significant difference was found in the overall suppressive effect of siRNAs and dsRNAs, as both approaches inhibited fungal biomass accumulation and reduced the severity of anthracnose in maize leaves. It was also tested the effect of expression CHSVII dsRNA in transgenic maize with experimentally infected <em>C. graminicola</em>. The 20 maize transgenic events showed a gradient from low to high severity of anthracnose in leaves and stalk compared to the non-transgenic plants indicated that it also can be used as strategy to mitigate this disease. The RNAi strategies applied in this study to inhibit <em>C. graminicola</em> growth both <em>in vitro</em> and <em>in vivo</em>, as well as to protect transgenic maize plants against anthracnose, suggest this could support future technologies aimed at mitigating yield losses and reducing fungicide application used in maize fields.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20046,"journal":{"name":"Physiological and Molecular Plant Pathology","volume":"143 ","pages":"Article 103161"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147386471","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Diversity and pathogenicity of Stemphylium and Alternaria species associated with foliar blights in rainfed legumes of Iran","authors":"Naser Moghtader Zangakani ,&nbsp;Masoud Abrinbana ,&nbsp;Hamid Reza Pouralibaba","doi":"10.1016/j.pmpp.2026.103146","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pmpp.2026.103146","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Foliar blights threaten rainfed cool-season legumes in Iran, but the diversity and pathogenicity of the associated <em>Stemphylium</em> and <em>Alternaria</em> species remains poorly characterized. This study characterized 98 fungal isolates obtained from symptomatic chickpea, lentil, grass pea, and vetches plants collected across eight provinces in western and northwestern Iran. Based on morphological characteristics and <em>gapdh</em> sequencing of all isolates, followed by multi-locus phylogenetic analysis (<em>gapdh</em> and <em>cmd</em> for <em>Stemphylium</em>; <em>gapdh</em>, <em>rpb2</em>, <em>tef1</em>, and <em>Alt a 1</em> for <em>Alternaria</em>) of representative isolates, five <em>Stemphylium</em> and five <em>Alternaria</em> species were identified. This included first reports of <em>S. amaranthi</em> on lentil, <em>S. lycii</em> on chickpea and lentile, <em>A. atra</em> and <em>A. consortialis on chickpea, lentil and vetches,</em> and <em>A. japonica</em> on chickpea. <em>Stemphylium</em> species, predominantly <em>S. vesicarium</em> and <em>S. beticola</em>, were mainly recovered from lentil. <em>Alternaria</em> species, dominated by <em>A. alternata</em>, occurred on all four hosts. Pathogenicity assays confirmed all species as pathogenic, with aggressiveness varying by host and species. Common vetch was highly susceptible, whereas grass pea displayed partial resistance. A key finding was the frequent co-occurrence of <em>Stemphylium</em> and <em>Alternaria</em> species in chickpea and lentil, revealing that foliar blight in these crops operates as a disease complex rather than a single-pathogen disease. This complexity, where interactive pathogen dynamics likely drive disease severity, challenges conventional management. Our findings redefine the etiology of legume blights in Iran and underscore the need for integrated, region-specific control strategies that target the entire pathogen community.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20046,"journal":{"name":"Physiological and Molecular Plant Pathology","volume":"143 ","pages":"Article 103146"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146161849","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Metabarcoding reveals rhizosphere microbiome differences in healthy and basal rot-affected dragon fruit plants","authors":"Marly Guelac Santillan ,&nbsp;Paul Fernandez Castro ,&nbsp;Angel F. Huaman Pilco ,&nbsp;Richard Estrada ,&nbsp;Pedro Rodríguez Grados ,&nbsp;Carlos I. Arbizu","doi":"10.1016/j.pmpp.2026.103111","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pmpp.2026.103111","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The rhizosphere microbiome plays a crucial role in plant health, yet its dynamics in <em>Selenicereus megalanthus</em> (yellow dragon fruit) remain poorly understood. This study employed high-throughput sequencing to characterize the bacterial and fungal communities in the rhizosphere of healthy and basal rot-affected plants across four commercial production sites in Amazonas department from Peru. Amplicon sequencing Metagenomics Sequencing (WOBI) targeting to 16S rRNA (for bacteria) and ITS (for fungi) gene regions show differences in microbial community structure associated with plant health status. Multivariate analyses revealed a clear disease-driven reassembly of the bacterial microbiome, marked by the loss of health-associated taxa (<em>Xanthobacteraceae</em>, <em>Geminicoccaceae</em>, <em>Nocardioidaceae</em>) and enrichment of oligotrophic and stress-tolerant groups (<em>Nitrososphaeraceae</em>, <em>Acidobacteriaceae</em> Subgroup 1). In contrast, fungal assemblages displayed structural inertia, responding primarily through pathogen-associated increases in <em>Nectriaceae</em>. Soil physicochemistry articularly pH, exchangeable aluminum, and nutrient levels modulated the strength of bacterial differentiation, highlighting the role of edaphic filters in microbiome resilience.</div><div>Our findings provide evidence of a bacterial-centered dysbiosis associated with basal stem rot in <em>S. megalanthus</em>, while positioning fungal communities as structurally resilient components of the holobiont. Together, these results outline a framework in which disease is linked to altered plant microbe soil feedbacks rather than pathogen presence alone, and suggest that bacterial assemblages could inform the development of microbiome-based early-warning indicators and soil health strategies for sustainable dragon fruit management.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20046,"journal":{"name":"Physiological and Molecular Plant Pathology","volume":"143 ","pages":"Article 103111"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147386019","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Metabolite-mediated nematicidal activity of tomato rhizobacteria against the root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita","authors":"Deeikshana T ,&nbsp;Devrajan K ,&nbsp;Prabhu S ,&nbsp;Shandeep S G ,&nbsp;Arun A ,&nbsp;Thangamani C ,&nbsp;Maruthasalam S ,&nbsp;Poorniammal R ,&nbsp;Haran M S R","doi":"10.1016/j.pmpp.2026.103171","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pmpp.2026.103171","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The root-knot nematode, <em>Meloidogyne incognita</em>, poses a significant threat to global tomato production, resulting in substantial yield reductions and economic losses. The current study focused on isolating rhizosphere bacteria with nematicidal activity from major tomato growing regions in Tamil Nadu, India, and the results revealed that among isolated bacterial communities, <em>Bacillus tequilensis</em> isolate TRRB-2 exhibited 100% inhibition in egg hatching and juvenile mortality of <em>M. incognita</em>. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis of <em>B. tequilensis</em> isolate TRRB-2 cell-free culture supernatants (CFS) revealed the presence of unique biomolecules such as 5,6-decanediol, E−15-heptadecenal, 1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid, dimethyl palmitamine, 2′,4′-dihydroxyacetophenone, 4,7-ethanoisobenzofuran, and 1,2-benzenediol. The results of molecular docking studies exhibited that among the different biomolecules, 5,6-decanediol demonstrated strong binding affinity against Vitellogenin, SXP/RAL-2, ODR-3, Ferritin, Acetylcholinesterase, and Protein Disulfide Isomerase (PDI) targets of <em>M. incognita</em>. Furthermore, <em>B. tequilensis</em> isolate TRRB-2 exhibited a 75.35% reduction in nematode populations under greenhouse conditions with an 82% increase in overall plant growth parameters. The results of the field trials revealed that soil drenching of <em>B. tequilensis</em> isolate TRRB-2 resulted in a 70% reduction in soil and root population of <em>M. incognita,</em> along with a 60% increase in overall plant growth parameters when compared to the control. Overall, the current study highlights the importance of the rhizosphere-isolated <em>B. tequilensis</em> isolate TRRB-2 for the successful management of <em>M. incognit</em>a in tomato.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20046,"journal":{"name":"Physiological and Molecular Plant Pathology","volume":"143 ","pages":"Article 103171"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147386077","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Biocontrol activity of Bacillus velezensis against Ralstonia solanacearum race 1 biovar 3 in tomato: insights from defence induction, and functional analysis","authors":"Sheneka Rajendran ,&nbsp;Ricardo Oliva ,&nbsp;Shajith Basha Jaffer ,&nbsp;Thiribhuvanamala Gurudevan ,&nbsp;Karthikeyan Subburamu ,&nbsp;Kumar K. Krishnasamy ,&nbsp;Ramasamy Srinivasan ,&nbsp;Shanthi Mookiah ,&nbsp;Angappan Kathithachalam ,&nbsp;Karthikeyan Muthusamy","doi":"10.1016/j.pmpp.2026.103138","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pmpp.2026.103138","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Bacterial wilt, caused by <em>Ralstonia solanacearum</em>, is one of the most destructive diseases of tomato, with biovar 3 race 1 isolates predominant in India. The present study investigated rhizosphere bacterial isolates (ToRB-1 to ToRB-45) for their antagonistic potential against a virulent <em>R. solanacearum</em> isolate Rs-TN-02. Among these, the cell-free supernatants of isolates ToRB-7, ToRB-23, and ToRB-26 exhibited greater inhibition in agar diffusion assays. Molecular characterization using 16S rRNA and DNA gyrase genes identified these isolates as <em>Bacillus velezensis</em>. Chemical profiling using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry revealed the presence of several secondary metabolites, and selected compounds were subjected to <em>in silico</em> docking analysis with virulence-related proteins of <em>R. solanacearum</em>. Scanning electron microscopy of co-cultured broth indicated the predominance of <em>B. velezensis</em> cells and observable morphological alterations in Rs-TN-02. Under <em>in vitro</em> conditions, the isolates demonstrated multiple plant growth-promoting traits, including IAA, ammonia, HCN, and siderophore production, as well as phosphorus and zinc solubilization. In a glasshouse experiment, their combined application enhanced seed germination (97.33%), shoot length (37.9 cm) and root length (15.6 cm), and reduced bacterial wilt incidence by 88.13% compared with the untreated control. Treated plants showed enhanced defence enzyme activities and total phenol content. RT-qPCR analysis of selected defence-related genes indicated a positive transcriptional response with a 3.6-fold increase in <em>NPR-1</em> expression. Overall, the study highlights the antagonistic, plant growth-promoting, and disease-suppressive attributes of <em>B. velezensis</em> isolates under controlled experimental conditions, supporting their potential inclusion in integrated and sustainable management strategies for tomato bacterial wilt, pending further field-level validation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20046,"journal":{"name":"Physiological and Molecular Plant Pathology","volume":"143 ","pages":"Article 103138"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146161847","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Leaf blight of Oroxylum indicum caused by Colletotrichum siamense in India","authors":"C. Mani Prasad,&nbsp;V. Kavi Sidharthan,&nbsp;K. Sudheer Kumar","doi":"10.1016/j.pmpp.2026.103175","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pmpp.2026.103175","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div><em>Oroxylum indicum</em> is a medicinally important tree species distributed widely in the sub-tropical and tropical regions of Asia. During January 2025, leaf blight disease was observed in nursery-grown <em>O. indicum</em> seedlings in Telangana, India. The disease incidence was 14.9% and 26.1% in January and April 2025, respectively. A fungal isolate was obtained from symptomatic samples and its pathogenicity on <em>O. indicum</em> was proved through detached leaf assay. The fungal colony appeared dull white to grey with yellowish-orange ooze at the point of inoculation. Conidia were single-celled, cylindrical (average size: 12.3 × 4.7 μm) that germinated to produce oval to elliptical appressoria. Molecular characterization of the fungal pathogen based on six genomic loci— chitin synthase 1 (<em>CHS-1</em>), glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (<em>GAPDH</em>), histone (<em>HIS3</em>), internal transcribed spacer (<em>ITS</em>), β-tubulin 2 (<em>TUB2</em>) and elongation factor 1-alpha (<em>TEF1-α</em>)—revealed the identity of the fungus as <em>Colletotrichum siamense</em>. The study reports <em>C. siamense</em> as the causal agent of <em>O. indicum</em> leaf blight for the first time globally. Further screening of the fungal isolate for fungicide sensitivity revealed its sensitivity to carbendazim, propiconazole and tebuconazole with EC₅₀ values of 0.02 μg/mL, 0.83 μg/mL and 1.48 μg/mL, respectively. Thus, these fungicides can be deployed for the management of leaf blight disease of <em>O. indicum</em> in nurseries after <em>in-planta</em> validation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20046,"journal":{"name":"Physiological and Molecular Plant Pathology","volume":"143 ","pages":"Article 103175"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147386070","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"MNCM: Hybrid attention MobileNet for wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) disease identification","authors":"Ning Li ,&nbsp;Yangxuan Liu ,&nbsp;Madineh Bijani ,&nbsp;Longguo Wu ,&nbsp;Xiaojie Du ,&nbsp;Laixiang Xu","doi":"10.1016/j.pmpp.2026.103177","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pmpp.2026.103177","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Wheat is a staple crop of global significance, essential for food security and agricultural sustainability. Its production is frequently threatened by foliar diseases such as leaf rust, septoria, and powdery mildew, which can severely reduce both yield and grain quality. Accurate and timely identification of these diseases is therefore critical for effective crop management and loss prevention. However, existing deep learning models often struggle to balance recognition accuracy with computational efficiency, limiting their practicality for real-world field deployment. To address this challenge, we propose MNCM, a novel lightweight deep learning model for wheat disease identification. The model enhances MobileNetV3-large by integrating a channel prior convolutional attention module to refine local feature extraction and a multi-head self-attention mechanism to capture long-range dependencies across feature maps. This hybrid design improves feature discrimination while maintaining a compact architecture suitable for edge devices. Evaluated on a dataset of 7493 images encompassing five wheat leaf conditions, the proposed model achieves an overall classification accuracy rate of 97.49%, outperforming comparative models including OverLoCK-B, MobileMamba, and ConvNeXt. These results demonstrate that MNCM offers a robust and efficient solution for automated wheat disease diagnosis, with strong potential for integration into smart agriculture systems and field-deployable early warning platforms.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20046,"journal":{"name":"Physiological and Molecular Plant Pathology","volume":"143 ","pages":"Article 103177"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147386071","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Whole genome analysis of Diplodia bulgarica associated with apple canker disease provides new insights into its virulence and host-pathogen interactions","authors":"Sajad Un Nabi ,&nbsp;Deeba Kamil ,&nbsp;Rouf Parray ,&nbsp;Santosh Watpade ,&nbsp;M.K. Verma ,&nbsp;Wasim H. Raja ,&nbsp;Javid I. Mir ,&nbsp;Mohammad Abas Shah ,&nbsp;Tabia Fayaz ,&nbsp;Sheikh Mansoor ,&nbsp;Saba Banday","doi":"10.1016/j.pmpp.2026.103152","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pmpp.2026.103152","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div><em>Diplodia bulgarica,</em> an ascomycetous fungus, causing apple canker disease belongs to family <em>Botryosphaeriaceae</em>. The genomic basis and pathogenicity mechanisms of <em>D. bulgarica</em> are still in the research domain. Here we are presenting the <em>D. bulgarica</em> isolate Sun2024a draft genome sequence completed through hybrid assembly. The genome of <em>Diplodia bulgarica</em> Sun2024a was estimated to be approximately 40.92 Mb with 23 contigs and 11,827 protein coding genes, with an overall GC content of 54.88%. Total of 1072 proteins were identified with signal peptides, along with 237 predicted effectors. The number of exons and introns identified was 35562 and 23717 respectively. Accordingly, 11,827 protein-coding genes were grouped into three categories based on gene ontology, BP (3764 genes), CC (3625 genes), and MF (3243 genes). Carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) were predictable to play an important role in the degradation of plant cell walls. The DFVF database identified the homologs of 1547 pathogenicity-associated genes, while the PHI database predicted 3990 homologs. To cover evolutionary details, 7918 SSRs were identified throughout the genome. This complete genome sequence analysis of <em>Diplodia bulgarica</em> Sun2024a causing apple canker augments our understanding of its pathogenesis and virulence. This study provides a framework for further investigation into <em>D. bulgarica</em> Sun2024a pathogenic mechanisms and the creation of improved methods for effective control of apple canker disease.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20046,"journal":{"name":"Physiological and Molecular Plant Pathology","volume":"143 ","pages":"Article 103152"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147386322","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}