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Poster

Session: Session 1 Presenting Authors at Posters (Evens)

P-204 - Potential convergent evolution of phytoalexin-responsive detoxification mechanisms in taxonomically distant polyxenous phytopathogenic fungi Botrytis cinerea and Colletotrichum tropicale.

Tuesday, July 15, 2025
09:55 - 11:30  
Location: Confex Hall 3
Microbial infection strategies (pathogens & non-pathogens)

    Presenting Author(s)

  • AA

    Akira Ashida

    Grad. Sch. Bioagr. Sci., Nagoya Univ.
    Nagoya, Showa, JAPAN

    • Author(s)

  • MK

    Minami Kawashima

    Sch. Agr. Sci., Nagoya Univ.
    Nagoya, Aichi, Japan

  • AB

    Abriel Bulasag

    Grad. Sch. Bioagr. Sci., Nagoya Univ.
    Nagoya, Aichi, Japan

  • TK

    Teruhiko Kuroyanagi

    Grad. Sch. Bioagr. Sci., Nagoya Univ.
    Nagoya, Aichi, Japan

  • IS

    Ikuo Sato

    Assistant Professor
    Grad. Sch. Bioagr. Sci., Nagoya Univ.
    Nagoya, Aichi, Japan

  • SC

    Sotaro Chiba

    Associate Professor
    Grad. Sch. Bioagr. Sci., Nagoya Univ.
    Nagoya, Aichi, Japan

  • MO

    Makoto Ojika

    Professor
    Grad. Sch. Bioagr. Sci., Nagoya Univ.
    Nagoya, Aichi, Japan

  • DT

    Daigo Takemoto

    Professor
    Grad. Sch. Bioagr. Sci., Nagoya Univ.
    Nagoya, Aichi, Japan


Throughout evolution, plants have developed chemically diverse antimicrobial compounds, known as phytoalexins. While phytoalexins typically exhibit broad-spectrum antimicrobial properties, Botrytis cinerea, the most well-known polyxenous plant pathogen infecting over 1,600 plant species, is highly resistant to various phytoalexins. This resistance is considered crucial for its ability to infect a wide range of hosts. In this study, we examined B. cinerea and Colletotrichum tropicale, another polyxenous pathogen affecting crops in tropical regions. RNA-seq analysis was conducted on both fungi after treatment with four phytoalexins: capsidiol from chili pepper, rishitin from potato, tormentic acid from strawberry and methyl trans-p-coumarate from cucumber. Our analysis revealed that each treatment induced a distinct set of genes, including those involved in phytoalexin metabolism, efflux, and virulence. Notably, both species upregulated unrelated ADH (alcohol dehydrogenases) motif-containing genes upon capsidiol treatment, and functional analysis confirmed their essential role for capsidiol detoxification and pathogenicity on capsidiol-producing plants in each species. Molecular evolutionary analysis further indicates that the ADH genes in both species have entirely different origins. These findings suggest that both polyxenous pathogens share a common mechanism: recognizing host plants via phytoalexins, activating resistance pathways, and initiating infection processes.