Provisionally accepted

Rigidoporus microporus, the causative agent of white rot in rubber trees, poses a significant threat to global natural rubber production. Understanding the molecular mechanisms that promote its pathogenicity is critical for developing effective disease control strategies. The pathogen secretes effector proteins that play a central role in modulating host immune responses and infection. In this study, in silico analyses identified 357 putatively secreted effector proteins from the R. microporus genome, which were then integrated with previous RNA sequence data obtained in response to contact with rubber tree latex. Annotation of putative effectors suggested an abundance of proteins in several families associated with R. microporus virulence, particularly hydrophobin proteins and glycoside hydrolase (GH) proteins. The contribution of secreted effectors to fungal pathogenicity was discussed, especially in response to contact with rubber tree latex. For the protein structures, some unknown highly expressed effectors were predicted, revealing their similarity to aminopeptidase, ubiquitin ligase, spherulin and thaumatin protein. This integrative study further elucidates the molecular mechanism of R. microporus pathogenesis and provides alternative targets for the development of control strategies to combat white rot in rubber plantations.