Cold-adapted organisms with current arctic-alpine distributions have persisted during the last glaciation in multiple ice-free refugia, leaving footprints in their population structure that contrast with temperate plants and animals. However, pathogens that live within hosts having arctic-alpine distributions have been little studied. Here, we therefore investigated the geographical range and p...

The current low incidence of sugarcane diseases in the South African sugar industry has been hardwon. This achievement is due largely to the selection and release of resistant varieties. Consequently, current estimates of crop loss due to smut and mosaic indicate reductions in yield of only 0.2% in total, equivalent to R7 million per annum. In the absence of an RSD variety resistance screening ...

Rice false smut has become an increasingly serious fungal disease in rice (Oryza sativa L.) production worldwide. Ustilaginoidins are bis-naphtho-γ-pyrone mycotoxins previously isolated from the rice false smut balls (FSBs) infected by the pathogen Villosiclava virens in rice spikelets on panicles. To investigate the main ustilaginoidins and their distribution in rice FSBs, five main bis-naphth...

The fungal pathogen Ustilago hordei causes the covered smut disease of barley and oats. Mating and pathogenicity in this fungus are controlled by the MAT locus, which contains two distinct gene complexes, a and b. In this study, we tagged the a and b regions with the recognition sequence for the restriction enzyme I-SceI and determined that the distance between the complexes is 500 kb in a MAT-...

Sporisorium scitamineum is a fungal smut pathogen epidemic in sugarcane producing areas. Early detection and proper identification of the smut are an essential requirement in its management practice. In this study, we developed a TaqMan real-time PCR assay using specific primers (bEQ-F/bEQ-R) and a TaqMan probe (bEQ-P) which were designed based on the bE (b East mating type) gene (Genbank Acces...

The level of parasite virulence, i.e., the decrease in host's fitness due to a pathogen, is expected to depend on several parameters, such as the type of the disease (e.g., castrating or host-killing) and the prevalence of multiple infections. Although these parameters have been extensively studied theoretically, few empirical data are available to validate theoretical predictions. Using the an...

Interaction of oral streptococci biofilm is the main etiological factor for dental caries. The aim of the study was to compare oral streptococci (OS) distribution in the biofilm of primary dentition from caries-free and caries-affected preschool Mexican children. This cross-sectional study involved 40 caries-free and 40 caries-affected children with primary dentition. Each child was examined us...

This number of Mycological Research News features: In this issue; Fungi associated with insects or used for applied biocontrol ; Powdery mildews as invasive plant pathogens: new epidemics caused by two North American species in Europe; and Genetic differences among nuclei in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. This theme issue on fungi associated with insects includes ten papers on this topic. These ...

Downy mildew caused by Sclerospora graminicola (Sacc.) Schroët. and smut caused by Moesziomyces penicillariae (Bref.) Vanky are the most important diseases (in that order) limiting the productivity of pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.] in Asia and Africa (Thakur et al. 1992; Singh et al. 1993). These diseases are more serious on commercial F1 hybrids than on open-pollinated varieties...