Unraveling the <i>Fusarium oxysporum</i> f. sp. <i>fragariae</i> –Strawberry Interaction: Evolution, Infection, and Genetic Resistance

Fusarium wilt of strawberry, caused by the soilborne fungal pathogen <i>Fusarium oxysporum</i> f. sp. <i>fragariae</i> (<i>Fof</i>), is one of the greatest threats to cultivated strawberry. The pathogen penetrates strawberry plants through roots, severely affecting roots and crowns and resulting in rapid wilting and death. Research into the genetic basis of resistance to <i>Fof</i> has identified five loci, <i>FW1</i> to <i>FW5</i>, that confer resistance to Fusarium wilt of strawberry and one <i>Fof</i> effector, <i>SIX6</i>. Although it is hypothesized that FW1 recognizes the SIX6 effector, the underlying resistance gene is unknown. A new isolate of <i>Fof</i> that breaks <i>FW1</i>-mediated resistance recently emerged and poses a significant threat to the California strawberry industry, the source of 88 to 91% of the strawberries produced in the United States. There are still significant gaps surrounding the molecular and physiological interaction between <i>Fof</i> and strawberry and the evolution of pathogenicity of <i>Fof</i> isolates unaffected by <i>FW1</i>. This review summarizes our current knowledge, identifies knowledge gaps, and provides a summary of genomic and molecular tools currently available to study the <i>Fof</i>-strawberry interaction. [Formula: see text] Copyright © 2025 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.