Blue Mold to Genomics and Beyond: Insights into the Biology and Virulence of Phytopathogenic Penicillium Species
Wayne M. Jurick II, Jiujiang Yu and Joan W. Bennett
from: Aspergillus and Penicillium in the Post-genomic Era (Edited by: Ronald P. de Vries, Isabelle Benoit Gelber and Mikael Rørdam Andersen). Caister Academic Press, U.K. (2016) Pages: 75-88.
Abstract
Apples and pears are economically important pome fruits grown and consumed worldwide. The United States is the second largest producer of apples and pears in the world behind China. Fruit decay caused by blue molds, Penicillium expansum and other Penicillium spp., results in significant economic losses to the apple and pear fruit packing and processing industries. Since blue mold fungi produce several mycotoxins, they also are a food safety concern. In recent years, various '-omics' technologies have been used to learn more about fungal virulence and toxigenic potential, and to find possible news ways to control Penicillium species that infect pome fruits. Several P. expansum genomes have been sequenced and compared with the genomes of other sequenced Penicillium species. In this chapter, the current status of blue mold biology, control, epidemiology, genomics and functional genomics are discussed read more ...
