Fulvia fulva
and
Dothistroma septosporum
are closely related apoplastic pathogens with similar lifestyles but different hosts:
F. fulva
is a pathogen of tomato, whilst
D. septosporum
is a pathogen of pine trees. In 2012, the first genome sequences of these pathogens were published, with
F. fulva
and
D. septosporum
having highly fragmented and near‐complete assemblies, respectively. Since then, significant advances have been made in unravelling their genome architectures. For instance, the genome of
F. fulva
has now been assembled into 14 chromosomes, 13 of which have synteny with the 14 chromosomes of
D. septosporum
, suggesting these pathogens are even more closely related than originally thought. Considerable advances have also been made in the identification and functional characterization of virulence factors (e.g., effector proteins and secondary metabolites) from these pathogens, thereby providing new insights into how they promote host colonization or activate plant defence responses. For example, it has now been established that effector proteins from both
F. fulva
and
D. septosporum
interact with cell‐surface immune receptors and co‐receptors to activate the plant immune system. Progress has also been made in understanding how
F. fulva
and
D. septosporum
have evolved with their host plants, whilst intensive research into pandemics of Dothistroma needle blight in the Northern Hemisphere has shed light on the origins, migration, and genetic diversity of the global
D. septosporum
population. In this review, we specifically summarize advances made in our understanding of the
F. fulva
–tomato and
D. septosporum
–pine pathosystems over the last 10 years.