[Progress on avirulence genes of the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe grisea]

Rice blast, caused by the fungal pathogen Magnaporthe grisea, is one of the most devastating diseases of rice. The specific interaction between rice and M. grisea is an important model system for studying the host-pathogen interaction mechanisms. In this article, we summarized recent research progresses on avirulence genes, which are the most important effectors in M. grisea with the focus on chromosome mapping, cloning method, functional analysis, and evolution study of avirulence genes, and the possible hotspot of the research on avirulence genes in the future was also been discussed. This knowledge may shed a light on the molecular mechanism underlying avirulence genes function and the possible interaction relationship between the host and the pathogen.