Comparative Analysis of Pathogenicity, Phylogenetic Relationship and Host Fungal Rice Blast Pathogen Magnaporthe grisea

Magnaporthe grisea, also identified as rice blast fungus, rotten rice neck, rice seedling blight, oval leaf spot of graminea, blast of rice [1], pitting disease, ryegrass blast, and Johnson spot is a plant-pathogenic fungus that causes a serious disease affecting rice [2]. Rice blast, caused by Magnaporthe grisea, is considered the most important disease of rice worldwide [3] because of its extensive distribution and destructiveness under favorable conditions. Infection of rice plants occurs from airborne conidia, and symptoms appear as lesions or spots [4]. This disease remains the single major threat to the rice industry. Even though disease modeling research has shown that the pathogen could initiate multiple disease cycles if introduced, the exact behavior of the disease will not be known until it occurs. The stages of development, Rice blast is a polycyclic disease depending on favorable conditions [5]. The pathogen survives winter as conidia or mycelium on diseased rice stubble, seed or in alive plants [6].