Post-transcriptional silencing of the SGE1 gene induced by a dsRNA hairpin in Fusarium oxysporum f. sp cubense, the causal agent of Panama disease.

Fusarium oxysporum f. sp cubense (Foc), the causal agent of Panama disease, is responsible for economic losses in banana crops worldwide. The identification of genes that effectively act on pathogenicity and/or virulence may contribute to the development of different strategies for disease control and the production of resistant plants. The objective of the current study was to analyze the importance of SGE1 gene expression in Foc virulence through post-transcriptional silencing using a double-stranded RNA hairpin.