Abstract: Cladosporium fulvum (syn. Passalora fulva) is a fungal pathogen that causes tomato (Solanum lycopersicum ) leaf mold disease, and threat commercial tomato production seriously. The C. fulvum-tomato interaction strictly fits the gene-for-gene principle, and has become a model system for studying plant-pathogen interaction. In this paper, the research history of C. fulvum and Cf genes resistant to C. fulvum were reviewed. Subsequently, the current p rogresseswere summarized on the infection behaviors of C. fulvum as well as the types, characters and functions of effector proteins derived C. fulvum. Meanwhile, the research progresses were also reviewed on the types, evolution, structures and functions of Cf genes. Especially, the recent progresses were emphatically reviewed on the molecularmechanism of Cf/Avr interaction, signal transduction depended on Cf/Avr and the autoactivity of Cf genes. Finally, we discussed the faced questions, research hotspots and strategies on the resistance of tomato to C. fulvum so as to provide some available information for further investigating tomatops resistance to C. fu lvum or plants’resistance to fungus.

Key words: Solanum lycopersicum, Cladosporium fulvum, C. fulvum resistant genes, avirulence gene, autoactive protein