Fruit plays an important role in human diet. Whereas, fungal pathogens cause huge losses of fruit during storage and transportation, abuse of chemical fungicides leads to serious environmental pollution and endangers human health. Antagonistic yeasts (also known as biocontrol yeasts) are promising substitutes for chemical fungicides in the control of postharvest decay owing to their widespread distribution, antagonistic ability, environmentally friendly nature, and safety for humans. Over the past few decades, the biocontrol mechanisms of antagonistic yeasts have been extensively studied, such as nutrition and space competition, mycoparasitism, and induction of host resistance. Moreover, combination of antagonistic yeasts with other agents or treatments were developed to improve the biocontrol efficacy. Several antagonistic yeasts are used commercially. In this review, the application of antagonistic yeasts for postharvest decay control is summarized, including the antagonistic yeast species and sources, antagonistic mechanisms, commercial applications, and efficacy improvement. Issues requiring further study are also discussed.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) play a dual role in fruit–pathogen interaction, which largely depends on their different levels in cells. Fruit recognition of a pathogen immediately triggers an oxidative burst that is considered an integral part of the fruit defense response. ROS are also necessary for the virulence of pathogenic fungi. However, the accumulation of ROS in cells causes molecular damage and finally leads to cell death. In this review, on the basis of data regarding ROS production and the scavenging systems determining ROS homeostasis, we focus on the role of ROS in fruit defense reactions against pathogens and in fungi pathogenicity during fruit–pathogen interaction.

Fruits, vegetables and other plant-derived foods contribute important ingredients for human diets, and are thus favored by consumers worldwide. Among these horticultural crops, tomato belongs to the Solanaceae family, ranks only secondary to potato (S. tuberosum L.) in yields and is widely cultivated for fresh fruit and processed foods owing to its abundant nutritional constituents (including vitamins, dietary fibers, antioxidants and pigments). Aside from its important economic and nutritional values, tomato is also well received as a model species for the studies on many fundamental biological events, including regulations on flowering, shoot apical meristem maintenance, fruit ripening, as well as responses to abiotic and biotic stresses (such as light, salinity, temperature and various pathogens). Moreover, tomato also provides abundant health-promoting secondary metabolites (flavonoids, phenolics, alkaloids, etc.), making it an excellent source and experimental system for investigating nutrient biosynthesis and availability in food science. Here, we summarize some latest results on these aspects, which may provide some references for further investigations on developmental biology, stress signaling and food science.

As a member of the Catharanthus roseus receptor-like kinase 1-like (CrRLK1L) protein kinase subfamily, FERONIA (FER) has emerged as a versatile player regulating multifaceted functions in growth and development, as well as responses to environmental factors and pathogens. With the concerted efforts of researchers, the molecular mechanism underlying FER-dependent signaling has been gradually elucidated. A number of cellular processes regulated by FER-ligand interactions have been extensively reported, implying cell type-specific mechanisms for FER. Here, we provide a review on the roles of FER in male-female gametophyte recognition, cell elongation, hormonal signaling, stress responses, responses to fungi and bacteria, and present a brief outlook for future efforts.

To successfully infect plants and trigger disease, fungal plant pathogens use various strategies that are dependent on characteristics of their biology and genomes. Although pathogenic fungi are different from animals and plants in the genomic heritability, sequence feature, and epigenetic modification, an increasing number of phytopathogenic fungi have been demonstrated to share DNA methyltransferases (MTases) responsible for DNA methylation with animals and plants. Fungal plant pathogens predominantly possess four types of DNA MTase homologs, including DIM-2, DNMT1, DNMT5, and RID. Numerous studies have indicated that DNA methylation in phytopathogenic fungi mainly distributes in transposable elements (TEs), gene promoter regions, and the repetitive DNA sequences. As an important and heritable epigenetic modification, DNA methylation is associated with silencing of gene expression and transposon, and it is responsible for a wide range of biological phenomena in fungi. This review highlights the relevant reports and insights into the important roles of DNA methylation in the modulation of development, pathogenicity, and secondary metabolism of fungal plant pathogens. Recent evidences prove that there are massive links between DNA and histone methylation in fungi, and they commonly regulate fungal development and mycotoxin biosynthesis.