Magnaporthe and Its Relatives (version 2.0)

One of the main current societal challenges is the production of food supplies to feed a constantly growing human population. In the forthcoming years, we will have to increase the global production of staple cereals such as rice to achieve this goal. Several factors compromise this objective, including the variation of raining patterns due to climate change and pathogen infections that drastically reduce crop yields. Wheat and rice are frequently affected by diseases caused by several root‐infecting species of Magnaporthales such as Gaeumannomyces graminis, Magnaporthiopsis rhizophila and Nakatea oryzae (syn. Magnaporthe salvinii). Other economically significant root pathogen of this fungal family is Magnaporthiopsis poae, which causes severe damages in turfs used for sport courts flooring and home lawns. The blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae, an extremely damaging airborne fungal pathogen of wheat and rice, also infects underground tissues. This is in accordance with the distinct penetration strategies displayed by M. oryzae during aerial and underground plant colonisation.