Abstract. Host specificity of a plant pathogen is defined by its effector complement. However, it remains unclear whether the full complement is required f

Venturia inaequalis is an Ascomycota fungus responsible for apple scab, the main disease in apple orchards. During infection, the pathogen colonizes the subcuticular space and secretes hundreds of eff...

Leptosphaeria maculans is a phytopathogenic fungus responsible for stem canker on Brassica napus . Its infectious cycle goes through an early phase of leaf infection and a late phase of colonization a...

Zymoseptoria tritici, the causal agent of the foliar disease Septoria tritici blotch (STB), is a major wheat pathogen in Europe. Although several wheat resistance (R) genes have been identified, Z. tr...

Phytopathogenic fungi cause enormous yield losses in many crops, threatening both agricultural production and global food security. To infect plants, they secrete effectors targeting various cellular...

Fungal biologists have embraced phylogenies for understanding the biology of this diverse group in an evolutionary framework. In an attempt to highlight lineages of fungi that are distinct from the...

Paauw et al. report on the evolution of a plant pathogenic Xanthomonas pathovar and show that the gain of mobile genetic elements and virulence factors coincided with the loss of the CRISPR-Cas genome...

Recognition of a pathogen avirulence (AVR) effector protein by its cognate plant resistance (R) protein triggers immune responses that render the plant resistant, representing an efficient disease con...

Starships form a recently discovered superfamily of giant transposons in Pezizomycotina fungi, implicated in mediating horizontal transfer of diverse cargo genes between fungal genomes. Their elusive nature has long obscured their significance, and their impact on genome evolution remains poorly understood. Here, we reveal a surprising abundance and diversity of Starships in the phytopathogenic fungus Verticillium dahliae. Remarkably, Starships dominate the plastic genomic compartments involved in host colonization, are enriched in virulence-associated genes, and exhibit genetic and epigenetic characteristics associated with adaptive genome evolution. We further uncover extensive horizontal transfer of Starships between Verticillium species and, strikingly, from distantly related Fusarium fungi. Finally, we demonstrate how Starship activity facilitated the de novo formation of a novel virulence gene. Our findings illuminate the profound influence of Starship dynamics on fungal genome evolution and the development of virulence. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.

A new apple scab resistance gene was characterized. It may be a valuable resource for both breeders and scientists, to produce new apple cultivars that are naturally resistant to this dangerous patho...