Ustilago maydis was specifically detected in infected maize plants by means of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using oligonucleotides corresponding to a specific region downstream of the homeodomain of the bE genes of the pathogen. The reaction gave rise to amplification of a ca. 500-bp product when tested with U. maydis DNA, but no amplification was detected with DNA from fungi not related...

Ustilago is a polyphyletic genus of smut fungi found mainly on Poaceae. The development of a taxonomy that reflects phylogeny requires subdivision of Ustilago into smaller monophyletic genera. Several separate systematic analyses have determined that Macalpinomyces mackinlayi, M. tubiformis, Tolyposporella pachycarpa, Ustilago bouriquetii and U. maydis, occupy a unique phylogenetic position wit...

The goal of this research was to determine mechanisms of interaction between endophytic strains of Fusarium verticillioides (Sacc.) Nirenberg and the pathogen, Ustilago maydis (DC) (Corda). Endophytic strains of the fungus F. verticillioides are commonly found in association with maize (Zea mays) and when co-inoculated with U. maydis, often lead to decreased disease severity caused by the patho...

Bacteria and fungi were tested for sensitivity to Ustilago maydis killer strains carrying virus-like particles. Various species taxonomically related to U. maydis were sensitive.

Infection of maize (Zea mays) plants with the smut fungus Ustilago maydis triggers the formation of tumors on aerial parts in which the fungal life cycle is completed. A differential display screen was performed to gain insight into transcriptional changes of the host response. Some of the genes strongly up-regulated in tumors showed a pronounced developmental expression pattern with decreasing...

Ustilago maydis is a fungal pathogen of maize. Some strains of U. maydis encode secreted polypeptide toxins capable of killing other susceptible strains of U. maydis. We show here that one of these toxins, the KP6 killer toxin, is synthesized by transgenic tobacco plants containing the viral toxin cDNA under the control of a cauliflower mosaic virus promoter. The two components of the KP6 toxin...

Stenocarpella maydis is a fungal pathogen of major importance that causes a dry-rot of maize ears and is associated with a neuromycotoxicosis in cattle grazing harvested maize fields in southern Africa and Argentina. In an effort to investigate the potential roles of S. maydis metabolites in the fungal disease cycle, ethyl acetate extracts of solid-substrate fermentations of several S. maydis i...

The maintenance of an intimate interaction between plant-biotrophic fungi and their hosts over evolutionary times involves strong selection and adaptative evolution of virulence-related genes. The highly specialised maize pathogen Ustilago maydis is assigned with a high evolutionary capability to overcome host resistances due to its high rates of sexual recombination, large population sizes and...

The fungus Ustilago maydis is a biotrophic pathogen of maize (Zea mays). In its genome we have identified an ortholog of YAP1 (for Yeast AP-1-like) from Saccharomyces cerevisae that regulates the oxidative stress response in this organism. yap1 mutants of U. maydis displayed higher sensitivity to H(2)O(2) than wild-type cells, and their virulence was significantly reduced. U. maydis yap1 could ...

Ustilago maydis is the causative agent of common smut of corn. Early studies noted its ability to synthesize phytohormones and, more recently these growth promoting substances were confirmed as cytokinins (CKs). Cytokinins comprise a group of phytohormones commonly associated with actively dividing tissues. Lab analyses identified variation in virulence between U. maydis dikaryon and solopathog...