Including reproducible laboratory protocols, this guide to fungal pathogens in plants has been written by expert researchers in the field and includes methods now used to study them, including techniques for model systems such as Arabidopsis thaliana.

This substantially updated edition now in full colour provides key techniques used when working with fungal and fungal-like plant pathogens. As a practical manual it also deals with disease recognition, detection and identification of fungi, plus methods to characterise and curate fungi and handle them under quarantine and quality assurance systems. Fungal Plant Pathogens: Applied Techniques, 2nd edition provides a valuable guide to investigating fungal plant diseases and interpreting laboratory findings for postgraduate and advanced undergraduate students, extension plant pathologists, consultants and advisers in agriculture, forestry and horticulture, and the food supply chain.

This book provides an overview of our current knowledge of some plant-pathogen interactions in economically important crops, emphasizing the importance of pathogenic fungi on fruits, cereals, postharvest crops and the establishment of plant diseases and drawing together fundamental new information on their management strategies based on conventional and eco-friendly methods, with an emphasis on the use of microorganisms and various biotechnological aspects of agriculture, which could lead to sustainability in modern agriculture. The book examines the role of microbes in growth promotion, as bioprotectors and bioremediators, and presents practical strategies for using microbes in sustainable agriculture. In addition, the use of botanicals vis-a-vis chemical pesticides is also reviewed. Contributions on new research fields such as mycorrhizas and endophytes are included. The book also examines in different chapters host-pathogen interactions in the light of the new tools and techniques of molecular biology and genetics.

Fungal diseases have contributed to death and disability in humans, triggered global wildlife extinctions and population declines, devastated agricultural crops, and altered forest ecosystem dynamics. Despite the extensive influence of fungi on health and economic well-being, the threats posed by emerging fungal pathogens to life on Earth are often underappreciated and poorly understood. On December 14 and 15, 2010, the IOM's Forum on Microbial Threats hosted a public workshop to explore the scientific and policy dimensions associated with the causes and consequences of emerging fungal diseases.

This treatise is focused on early aspects of fungal pathogenesis in plant and animal hosts. Our aim in choosing the topics and contributors was to demonstrate common approaches to studies of fungal-plant and fungal-animal interactions, particularly at the biochemical and molecular Ievels. For example, the initial events of adh«sion of fungal spores to the exposed surface tissues of the host are essential for subsequent invasion of the plant or animal and establishment of pathogenesis. A point of consensus among investigators who have directed their attention to such events in plants, insects, and vertebrates isthat spore adhesion to the host cuticle or epithelium is more than a simple binding event. lt is a complex and potentially pivotal process in fungal-plant interactions which "may involve the secretion of ftuids that prepare the infection court for the development of morphological stages of the germling" and subsequent invasion of the host (Nicholson and Epstein, Chapter 1). The attachment of the fungal propagule to the arthropod cuticle is also "mediated by the chemical components present on the outer layer of the spore wall and the epicuticle . . . . Initial attachment may be reinforced further by either the active secretion of adhesive materials or the modification of spore wall materiallocated at the [fungal spore arthropod] cuticle interface (Boucias and Pendland, Chapter 5).

Dramatic progress in molecular biology and genetic engineering has recently produced an unparalleled wealth of information on the mechanisms of plant and pathogen interactions at the cellular and molecular levels. Completely revised and expanded, Fungal Pathogenesis in Plants and Crops: Molecular Biology and Host Defense Mechanisms, Second Edition

Laboratory Protocols in Fungal Biology presents the latest techniques in fungal biology. This book analyzes information derived through real experiments, and focuses on cutting edge techniques in the field. The book comprises 57 chapters contributed from internationally recognised scientists and researchers. Experts in the field have provided up-to-date protocols covering a range of frequently used methods in fungal biology. Almost all important methods available in the area of fungal biology viz. taxonomic keys in fungi; histopathological and microscopy techniques; proteomics methods; genomics methods; industrial applications and related techniques; and bioinformatics tools in fungi are covered and complied in one book. Chapters include introductions to their respective topics, list of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and notes on troubleshooting. Each chapter is self-contained and written in a style that enables the reader to progress from elementary concepts to advanced research techniques. Laboratory Protocols in Fungal Biology is a valuable tool for both beginner research workers and experienced professionals. Coming Soon in the Fungal Biology series: Goyal, Manoharachary / Future Challenges in Crop Protection Against Fungal Pathogens Martín, García-Estrada, Zeilinger / Biosynthesis and Molecular Genetics of Fungal Secondary Metabolites Zeilinger, Martín, García-Estrada / Biosynthesis and Molecular Genetics of Fungal Secondary Metabolites, Volume 2 van den Berg, Maruthachalam / Genetic Transformation Systems in Fungi Schmoll, Dattenbock / Gene Expression Systems in Fungi Dahms / Advanced Microscopy in Mycology