Discovery and Characterization of Effector Proteins in the Necrotrophic Fungal Pathogen, Penicillium expansum

Penicillium expansum is most damaging pathogen of pome fruit and of great concern to fruit processing industries due to its production of patulin, a highly toxic mycotoxin that can contaminate its processed products. Despite the economic impact of P. expansum, our knowledge about host-pathogen interactions is insufficient. Thus, understanding the mechanisms involved in how P. expansum is able to modulate host responses and successfully infect fruit tissue and cause diseases is needed.