Pathogens and other symbiotic fungi that infect above-ground plant parts commonly disperse as airborne spores. Here we present diel patterns of the density of airborne fungal spores in the canopy and understory of a tropical rain forest. Spores were 52-fold more abundant in the understory than in the canopy. Additionally, spores were 5to 35-fold more abundant at night than during the day, assoc...

Aspergillus flavus is one of the most important opportunistic pathogens of crops and animals. The carcinogenic mycotoxin, aflatoxins produced by this pathogen cause a health problem to human and animals. Since cyclic AMP signaling controls a range of physiological processes, like fungal development and infection when responding to extracellular stimuli in fungal pathogens, in this study, we inv...

Fusarium head blight (FHB), primarily caused by Fusarium graminearum, is a devastating disease of wheat. Partial resistance to FHB of several wheat cultivars includes specific metabolic responses to inoculation. Previously published studies have determined major metabolic changes induced by pathogens in resistant and susceptible plants. Functionality of the majority of these metabolites in resi...

Mycorrhizal spores were found to be closely associated with bacteria on their spore wall surface known as mycorrhiza associated bacteria (MAB) and its play a major role in the plant growth promotion by production of many known and unknown metabolites, nutrient solubilization and suppression of many soil borne pathogens in rhizosphere of crop plants. The present study was carried out to understa...

Scientific names are crucial in communicating knowledge about fungi. In plant pathology, they link information regarding the biology, host range, distribution, and potential risk. Our understanding of fungal biodiversity and fungal systematics has undergone an exponential leap, incorporating genomics, web-based systems, and DNA data for rapid identification to link species to metadata. The impa...

Criconemella xenoplax, Fusarium solani, and F. oxysporum caused necrosis of Nemaguard peach feeder roots in greenhouse tests. Root necrosis was more extensive in the presence of either fungus than wtih C. xenoplax alone. Shoot growth and plant height were less for plants inoculated with F. oxysporum or F. solani than for plants inoculated with the fungi plus C. xenoplax. Neither synergistic nor...

Beneficial soil microorganisms can affect plant growth and resistance by the production of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Yet, little is known on how VOCs from soil-borne plant pathogens affect plant growth and resistance. Here we show that VOCs released from mycelium and sclerotia of the fungal root pathogen Rhizoctonia solani enhance growth and accelerate development of Arabidopsis thalia...

Over the last 10 years plant pathologists have begun to realize that more knowledge about the genetic structure of populations of plant pathogens is needed to implement effective control strategies (48). Research on the genetic structure of fungal populations has mushroomed, and review papers that summarize these studies are numerous (7,27,33,34,38). Although the number of fungal studies has in...

pathogens such as Colletotrichum lagenarium and Magnaporthe grisea, melanization of appressoria is essential for penetration into the host plant.1) Fungal conidia germinate and the tips of germ tubes differentiate into appressoria, which synthesize melanin. The melanin mediates the buildup of pressure in the appressorium and this high pressure provides the essential driving force for mechanical...