Sequential breakdown of the Cf‐9 leaf mould resistance locus in tomato by Fulvia fulva

Abstract

Summary Leaf mould, caused by Fulvia fulva, is a devastating disease of tomato plants. In many commercial tomato cultivars, resistance to this disease is governed by the Cf‐9 locus, which encodes five paralogous receptor‐like proteins. Two of these proteins confer resistance: Cf‐9C recognises the previously identified F. fulva effector Avr9 and provides resistance during all plant growth stages, while Cf‐9B recognises the yet‐unidentified F. fulva effector Avr9B and provides mature plant resistance only. In recent years, F. fulva strains have emerged that can overcome the Cf‐9 locus, with Cf‐9C circumvented through Avr9 deletion. To understand how Cf‐9B is circumvented, we set out to identify Avr9B. Comparative genomics, transient expression assays and gene complementation experiments were used to identify Avr9B, while gene sequencing was used to assess Avr9B allelic variation across a world‐wide strain collection. A strict correlation between Avr9 deletion and resistance‐breaking mutations in Avr9B was observed in strains recently collected from Cf‐9 cultivars, whereas Avr9 deletion but no mutations in Avr9B were observed in older strains. This research showcases how F. fulva has evolved to sequentially break down the Cf‐9 locus and stresses the urgent need for commercial tomato cultivars that carry novel, stacked resistance genes active against this pathogen.