Hunting the plant surrender signal activating apoplexy in grapevines after Neofusicoccum parvum infection

SummaryApoplectic breakdown from Grapevines Trunk Diseases (GTDs) has become a serious challenge to viticulture in consequence to drought stress. We hypothesise that fungal aggressiveness is controlled by a chemical communication between host and colonising fungus.We introduce the new concept of a “plant surrender signal” accumulating in host plants under stress and triggering aggressive behaviour of the strain Neofusicoccum parvum (Bt-67) causing Botryosphaeriaceae-related dieback in grapevines.Using a cell-based experimental system (Vitis cells) and bioactivity-guided fractionation, we identify trans-ferulic acid, a monolignol precursor, as “surrender signal”. We show that this signal spe…