Differences in host-pathogen response and tolerance to esca disease between ‘Pardina’ and ‘Tempranillo’ grapevine cultivars

•In field Pardina was most tolerant than Tempranillo to esca-foliar symptoms expression.•The esca pathogen P. chlamydospora was able to multiplicate in both cultivars.•Cultivars have a different gene expression pattern as a response to P. chlamydospora infection.•P. chlamydospora significantly reduced roots and aerial weights in Tempranillo.•P. chlamydospora causes a major damage in the wood of Tempranillo. Grapevine trunk diseases (GTDs) represent a major phytopathogenic problem in viticulture worldwide. The Ascomycota Phaeomoniella chlamydospora is one of the most abundant fungal species associated with GTDs such as esca proper, grapevine leaf stripe disease (GLSD) and Petri disease. Currently, no efficient curative chemical treatments are available for their control. Additionally, various levels of susceptibility and mortality have been identified among grapevine cultivars in vineyards. It is believed that planting disease-tolerant cultivars would be one of the sustainable strategies for GTD management. The visual inspection of the foliar symptoms in established vineyards over 4 years (2018–2021) suggested that the ‘Pardina’ cultivar was more tolerant than the ‘Tempranillo’ cultivar to esca foliar symptom expression. Controlled inoculation with P. chlamydospora in greenhouse conditions contributed to better understand the differences between both cultivars in (i) foliar gene expression responses, (ii) vegetative symptom emergence, and (iii) internal fungal development and lesion in the wood. This study is an attempt to contribute to a better understanding of host-pathogen interaction and cultivar-specific response to GTDs.