Botrytis cinerea is a destructive necrotrophic pathogen that can infect many plant species. The control of gray mold mainly relies on the application of fungicides, and the fungicide fludioxonil is widely used in China. However, the field fungicide resistance of B. cinerea to this compound is largely unknown. In this study, B. cinerea isolates were collected from different districts of Shanghai province in 2015–2017, and their sensitivity to fludioxonil was determined. A total of 65 out of 187 field isolates (34.76%) were found to be resistant to fludioxonil, with 36 (19.25%) showing high resistance and 29 (15.51%) showing moderate resistance. Most of these resistant isolates also showed resistance to iprodione, and some developed resistance to fungicides of other modes of action. AtrB gene expression, an indicator of MDR1 and MDR1h phenotypes, was not dramatically increased in the tested resistant isolates. Biological characteristics and osmotic sensitivity investigations showed that the fitness of resistant isolates was lower than that of sensitive ones. To investigate the molecular resistance mechanisms of B. cinerea to fludioxonil, the Bos1 amino acid sequences were compared between resistant and sensitive isolates. Resistant isolates revealed either no amino acid variations or the mutations I365S, I365N, Q369P/N373S, and N373S.

Ethaboxam is a β-tubulin inhibitor registered for the control of oomycete pathogens. The current study was established to determine the ethaboxam sensitivity of the plant pathogen Phytophthora sojae and investigate the potential for the emergence of fungicide resistance. The effective concentration for 50% inhibition (EC₅₀) of 112 Phytophthora sojae isolates exhibited a unimodal distribution with a mean EC₅₀ for ethaboxam of 0.033 µg/ml. Establishing this baseline sensitivity provided critical data for monitoring changes in ethaboxam-sensitivity in field populations. The potential for fungicide resistance was investigated using adaptation on ethaboxam-amended V8 agar, which resulted in the isolation of 20 resistant mutants. An assessment of the biological characteristics of the mutants including mycelial growth, sporulation, germination rate and pathogenicity indicated that the resistance risk in Phytophthora sojae was low to medium with no cross-resistance between ethaboxam and cymoxanil, metalaxyl, flumorph, and oxathiapiprolin being detected. However, positive cross-resistance was found between ethaboxam and zoxamide for Q8L and I258V but negative cross-resistance for C165Y. Further investigation revealed that the ethaboxam-resistant mutants had point mutations at amino acids Q8L, C165Y, or I258V of their β-tubulin protein sequences. CRISPR/Cas9-mediated transformation experiments confirmed that the Q8L, C165Y, or I258V mutations could confer ethaboxam resistance in Phytophthora sojae and that the C165Y mutation induces high levels of resistance. Taken together, the results of the study provide essential data for monitoring the emergence of resistance and resistance management strategies for ethaboxam, as well as for improving the design of novel β-tubulin inhibitors for future development.