The genus Pseudozyma is an anamorph that belongs to the Ustilaginales. Pseudozyma species are unusual yeast-like fungi and are most frequently isolated from plant materials. The Pseudozyma strain, BCRC 33871, was isolated from the flower of Albizia julibrissin in Taiwan. BCRC 33871 was identified as P. antarctica and described based on morphological, physiological, and molecular data. This disc...

There is an increasing recognition that individual-level spatial and temporal heterogeneity may play an important role in metapopulation dynamics and persistence. In particular, the patterns of contact within and between aggregates (e.g., demes) at different spatial and temporal scales may reveal important mechanisms governing metapopulation dynamics. Using 7 years of data on the interaction be...

Ustiloxins are cyclopeptide mycotoxins isolated from rice false smut balls (FSBs), the ball-like colonies transformed from the individual grains through the filament infection by the fungal pathogen Villosiclava virens. There were no obvious relations between ustiloxin content and any of the collection areas, collection times, or average weight of each FSB. The rice false smut balls at early, m...

Mating System of the Anther Smut Fungus Microbotryum violaceum: Selfing under Heterothallism Tatiana Giraud,†* Roxana Yockteng,† Manuela López-Villavicencio, Guislaine Refrégier, and Michael E. Hood* Ecologie, Systématique et Evolution, Bâtiment 360, Université Paris-Sud, F-91405 Orsay cedex, France; CNRS, F-91405 Orsay cedex, France; MNHN, Département Systématique et Evolution, 16 rue Buffon C...

Ustilaginoidea virens is a rice pathogenic fungus that causes false smut disease, a disease that seriously damages the yield and quality of the grain. Analysis of the U. virens IPU010 33.6-Mb genome sequence will aid in the understanding of the pathogenicity of the strain, particularly in regard to effector proteins and secondary metabolic genes.

The draft genome sequence of the smut fungus Tilletiaria anomala UBC 951 (Basidiomycota, Ustilaginomycotina) is presented. The sequenced genome size is 18.7 Mb, consisting of 289 scaffolds and a total of 6,810 predicted genes. This is the first genome sequence published for a fungus in the order Georgefisheriales (Exobasidiomycetes).

Microbotryum violaceum (anther-smut) from Silene caroliniana and S. virginica produced promycelia that frequently appeared to contain more than three cells according to the number of septations. This is in contrast to samples from S. latifolia and to previous descriptions of this species. Apparent four-celled promycelia contained three nucleate cells and one anucleate zone. Anucleate zones were...