Agronomy· 2026Q1· Review
Dual-Edged Roles of Fungal Chlamydospores in Plant Protection: Research Progress and Application Potential
- 0citations
- Q1SCImago
- 2026year
Short summary
Fungal chlamydospores act as both persistent disease-causing inocula and stress-resistant biocontrol agents, with their dual roles depending on fungal species and environmental conditions.
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Key points
- Chlamydospores are thick-walled fungal propagules formed under environmental stress.
- They can act as inocula for pathogenic fungi, causing recurrent soil-borne diseases.
- They also serve as stress-resistant propagules for biocontrol formulations.
- Research covers ultrastructure, differentiation, survival, germination, and soil dynamics.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
Chlamydospores are thick-walled, dormant propagules formed by fungi in response to environmental stress. They play contrasting roles in plant protection: serving as persistent inocula of soil-borne pathogenic fungi that contribute to recurrent disease outbreaks, while also acting as highly stress-resistant propagules for fungal biocontrol formulations. This review examines the ultrastructure, regulation of differentiation, soil survival, and germination behaviour of fungal chlamydospores. It compares diverse survival strategies among pathogenic fungi and discusses natural disease-suppressive mechanisms, including soil fungistasis and germination–lysis. Furthermore, this review highlights the field application advantages of chlamydospores from Trichoderma and nematophagous biocontrol fungi, together with functionally analogous microsclerotia from entomopathogenic fungi. Finally, we identify major challenges in understanding the molecular regulation of chlamydospores, standardizing formulations, and quantitatively characterizing their ecological dynamics in soil. Addressing these challenges will support the sustainable management of soil-borne diseases and the development of fungal biocontrol products.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Agronomy, 2026 · DOI ↗
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