The arms race between tomato and Fusarium oxysporum

The interaction between tomato and Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici has become a model system for the study of the molecular basis of disease resistance and susceptibility. Gene-for-gene interactions in this system have provided the basis for the development of tomato cultivars resistant to Fusarium wilt disease. Over the last 6 years, new insights into the molecular basis of these gene-for-gene interactions have been obtained. Highlights are the identification of three avirulence genes in F. oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici and the development of a molecular switch model for I-2, a nucleotide-binding and leucine-rich repeat-type resistance protein which mediates the recognition of the Avr2 protein. We summarize these findings here and present possible scenarios for the ongoing molecular arms race between tomato and F. oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici in both nature and agriculture.