Molecular Mechanisms in Host Fungal Interactions

This book, a part of the Fungal Biology book series, explores the complex molecular mechanisms involved in host–fungal interactions, focusing on how plants defend themselves against fungal pathogens. It covers the two main layers of plant immunity: Pattern-Triggered Immunity (PTI), which responds to general microbial patterns, and Effector-Triggered Immunity (ETI), which detects specific pathogen signals. These systems help plants recognize harmful invaders and activate powerful defense responses. The chapters provide an in-depth look at topics such as microbial elicitors, resistance proteins, biochemical resistance models, fungal infection processes, and molecular tools like gene silencing and proteomics. It also discusses the structure and function of fungal pathogens, plant immune signaling pathways, and modern techniques for studying plant–fungus interactions, including mass spectrometry and herbarium-based molecular tracking. This book is a valuable resource for students, researchers, and professionals in plant pathology, microbiology, biotechnology, and agricultural sciences.