Sub-Epidermal Rusts

Microcyclic rusts of hollyhock (Alcea rosea)

Rust fungi infecting hollyhock and other plants in Malveae are frequently intercepted at ports of entry to the USA, particularly Puccinia malvacearum and P. heterogenea. These two species can be difficult to distinguish and can be further confused with other, less common species of microcyclic rust fungi infecting hollyhock: P. heterospora, P. lobata, P. platyspora, and P. sherardiana. Molecula...

Functional genomic approaches in cereal rusts

Cereal rust fungi are pathogens of major importance to agriculture, threatening cereal production worldwide. Targeted breeding for resistance, based on information from fungal surveys and population structure analyses of virulence, has been effective. Nevertheless, breakdown of resistance occurs frequently and continued efforts are needed to understand how these fungi overcome resistance and to...

Lack of communication rusts and ages stem cells

Life-long hematopoietic demands are filled by a pool of hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) with self-renewal and multipotential differentiation ability. Generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) at low and moderate levels is required for HSC activity. However, a sustained, abnormal increase in ROS production occurs under aging and genotoxic stress, which inhibits HSC self-renewal and induces HSC ...

Blister rusts in China: hosts, pathogens, and management

Prospects for advancing defense to cereal rusts through genetical genomics

Rusts are one of the most severe threats to cereal crops because new pathogen races emerge regularly, resulting in infestations that lead to large yield losses. In 1999, a new race of stem rust, Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici (Pgt TTKSK or Ug99), was discovered in Uganda. Most of the wheat and barley cultivars grown currently worldwide are susceptible to this new race. Pgt TTKSK has already s...