Dramatic progress in molecular biology and genetic engineering has recently produced an unparalleled wealth of information on the mechanisms of plant and pathogen interactions at the cellular and molecular levels. Completely revised and expanded, "Fungal Pathogenesis in Plants and Crops: Molecular Biology and Host Defense Mechanisms, Second Edition" offers fresh insight into the interplay of signaling systems in plant and pathogen interactions. The book delineates the battle between plant and fungal pathogen and the complex signaling systems involved. See what's new in the Second Edition: a chapter on the role of disease resistance genes in signal perception and emission; a chapter on cell death signaling in disease susceptibility and resistance; revised material on phytoalexins, toxins, and signal perception and transduction in fungal pathogenesis; and, inclusion of 17 additional families of pathogenesis-related proteins and antifungal proteins.The book describes the weapons used by fungal pathogens to evade or suppress the host defense mechanisms. It covers each fungal infection process from initial contact and penetration to the subsequent invasion and symptom development. The author explains complex signaling systems in the plant-pathogen interface with flow charts and provides drawings elucidating the biosynthetic pathway of secondary metabolites. He includes figures that highlight cutting-edge breakthroughs in molecular science and tables documenting important findings in the field of molecular plant pathology. These features and more make this book not only the most up to date resource in the field, but also the most important.