Ustilago hordei is a biotrophic parasite of barley (Hordeum vulgare). After seedling infection, the fungus persists in the plant until head emergence when fungal spores develop and are released from sori formed at kernel positions. The 26.1-Mb U. hordei genome contains 7113 protein encoding genes with high synteny to the smaller genomes of the related, maize-infecting smut fungi Ustilago maydis...

In the phytopathogenic fungus Ustilago maydis, the dikaryotic state dominates the period of growth occurring during the infectious phase. Dikaryons are cells in which two nuclei, one from each parent cell, share a single cytoplasm for a period of time without undergoing nuclear fusion. In fungal cells, maintenance of the dikaryotic state requires an intricate cell division process that often in...

the functional response is an important characteristic of predator–prey interactions that determinate which predator species or stage classes of predator is the most effective for pest control. host plant morphological characteristics are the effective factors on predator’s functional response. the objective of this study was to determine whether differences in trichome density of wheat cultiva...

The genome sequence of a second plant pathogenic fungus is now available, revealing unique gene clusters encoding secretory proteins that are induced during infection and regulate pathogenesis. Gene clusters play important roles in pathogenic fungi, yet their evolution and maintenance remain a mystery.

cytology of ustialgo maydis teliospore, basidiospore and mycelium was investigated with epiflouresent microscope using both ethidium bromide and ocridin orange. surface sterilized teliospores were cultured on pda + 10% dextrose medium and incubated at 25ºc for 5 days. the results revealed that nucleus in teliospore occupied most of the inner part of its cell. sporidia had an ellipsoid shape nuc...

Ustilago maydis was transformed by plasmids bearing a cloned, selectable gene but lacking an autonomously replicating sequence. Transformation was primarily through integration at nonhomologous loci when the plasmid DNA was circular. When the DNA was made linear by cleavage within the cloned gene, the spectrum of integration events shifted from random to targeted recombination at the resident c...

Diplodiosis is a neuromycotoxicosis of cattle and sheep caused by ingestion of maize infected with the ear-rot fungus Stenocarpella (= Diplodia ) maydis . Apart from ataxia, paresis, and paralysis, the toxin is responsible for stillbirths and neonatal losses characterized by the presence of spongiform degeneration in the white matter of the brain in the offspring of dams exposed to infected mai...

La enfermedad conocida como mancha de asfalto (Phyllachora maydis) afecta al cultivo maíz (Zea mays). Esta causa lesiones en las hojas que progresar pueden ocasionar la muerte planta. Existen diferentes métodos para evaluar el progreso una plantas. Generalmente, se utilizan escalas evaluación visual; sin embargo, su uso es bastante subjetivo. El procesamiento imágenes ha sido utilizado alternat...