Advances in the control of phytopathogenic fungi that infect crops through their root system

Productivity and economic sustainability of many herbaceous and woody crops are seriously threatened by numerous phytopathogenic fungi. While symptoms associated with phytopathogenic fungal infections of aerial parts (leaves, stems and fruits) are easily observable and therefore recognizable, allowing rapid or preventive action to control this type of infection, the effects produced by soil-borne fungi that infect plants through their root system are more difficult to detect. The fact that these fungi initiate infection and damage underground implies that the first symptoms are not as easily noticeable, and therefore both crop yield and plant survival are frequently severely compromised by the time the infection is found. In this paper we will review and discuss recent insights into plant-microbiota interactions in the root system crucial to understanding the beginning of the infectious process. We will also review different methods for diminishing and controlling the infection rate by phytopathogenic fungi penetrating through the root system including both the traditional use of biocontrol agents such as antifungal compounds as well as some new strategies that could be used because of their effective application, such as nanoparticles, virus-based nanopesticides, or inoculation of plant material with selected endophytes. We will also review the possibility of modeling and influencing the composition of the microbial population in the rhizosphere environment as a strategy for nudging the plant-microbiome interactions toward enhanced beneficial outcomes for the plant, such as controlling the infectious process.