Exhibits Necrotrophic Behavior when Causing Soft Rot in Ripe Fruit.

is known for causing soft rot in fruits and vegetables during postharvest. Although it has traditionally been considered a saprophyte, it appears to behave more like a necrotrophic pathogen. In this study, we propose that . invades host tissues by actively killing host cells and overcoming the host defense mechanisms, as opposed to growing saprophytically on decaying plant matter. We tested this hypothesis by characterizing . infection strategies when infecting four fruit hosts (tomato, grape, strawberry, and plum). We started by generating a high-quality genome assembly for . using PacBio sequencing. This led to a genome size of 45.02 Mb, an N50 of 2.87 Mb, and 12,644 predicted loci with protein-coding genes. Next, we performed a transcriptomic analysis to identify genes that . preferentially uses when growing in fruit versus culture media. We categorized these infection-related genes into clusters according to their expression patterns during the interaction with the host. Based on the expression data, we determined that . has a core infection toolbox consisting of strategies typical of necrotrophs, which includes a set of 33 oxidoreductases, 7 proteases, and 4 cell wall-degrading enzymes to facilitate tissue breakdown and maceration across various hosts. This study provides new genomic resources for . and advances the knowledge of -fruit interactions, which can assist in formulating effective and sustainable integrated pest management approaches for soft rot prevention. [Formula: see text] Copyright © 2025 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY 4.0 International license.