Effect of Pathogen Synergistic Pathogenicity on Severity of Verticillium Wilt of Cotton

Verticillium dahliae is a soil-borne and vascular pathogen causing Verticillium wilt of cotton, which is one of the most severe diseases affecting cotton production in China. Recently, a soil-inhabiting opportunistic pathogen was isolated and identified as Scopulariopsis gossypii; it could infect the host through wounds and increase disease severity in combination with V. dahliae. S. gossypii was able to form conidia in a nutritionally poor substrate and had similar biological characteristics to other vascular pathogens, while ultrastructure observation also confirmed that it was present in vascular tissue of cotton plants and produced conidia. Nematode activity in soil could cause wounds on the surface of cotton roots resulting in infection by the pathogens. On the basis of our analysis of the biological characteristics and infection process of S. gossypii and its interactions with other pathogens in cotton plants, we propose establishing a research program for multipathogen-host interactions in the cotton rhizosphere, which will enable detailed investigation of the synergistic pathogenesis of S. gossypii and V. dahliae.