Carbohydrate-active enzymes from a core root mycobiota member enable infection of multiple plant hosts.

A fungal gene encoding a β-1,3-glucanase (GH64) is linked to multihost infection in Plectosphaerella cucumerina and other plant-colonizing fungi.

• Why it matters: Understanding the genetic basis of fungi that infect multiple plant hosts can reveal how pathogens adapt and spread across diverse plants, addressing a key gap in plant-microbe interactions.
• What they did: Researchers sequenced 72 Plectosphaerella isolates, analyzed their genomes and transcriptomes across different plant roots, and identified a conserved GH64 gene associated with host infection.
• The result: The GH64 gene functions as a disease determinant in P. cucumerina and Colletotrichum, suggesting that host-induced CAZymes may enable fungi to maintain virulence and compatibility across multiple plant species.