Fungal pathogenicity and agriculture: the vascular plant pathogen Verticillium longisporum

The rape seed pathogen V. longisporum is an emerging threat in Europe. The fungus can survive in the form of resistant microsclerotia for years in the soil. The genome of the pathogen is a hybrid with parents showing different host specificities. Verticillia grow in the plant vascular system. The genome, transcriptome, proteome and secretome of V. longisporum is analysed. We search for genes which mediate the first contact between the fungus and the root.