My research aims to investigate the growth and pathogenicity of Fusarium circinatum pathogen as affected by root exudates. Few studies reported on the infection of F. circinatum on wounded roots of seedling, until recent, however, there is lack of knowledge known regarding the response of the pathogen towards the root exudates of pine. Therefore, the specific objectives of my research are 1. To investigate whether F. circinatum has a chemotropic response towards the root exudates of the host, this is done by developing a system such as a quantitative chemotropic plate assay. 2. To evaluate whether the responses of F. circinatum is facilitated by pheromone receptors, this will be determined by a gene knockout system.