The kinetic parameters of the 10 glycolytic enzymes and glycolytic fluxes were determined for the first time in Ustilago maydis. Enzyme activities in yeast grown in minimal medium and harvested in the stationary stage were twofold higher than those from yeast grown in rich medium. In contrast, in yeast harvested in the exponential stage, the enzyme activities were higher in cells grown in rich ...

Promoter sequences from the Aspergillus niger glucoamylase-encoding gene (glaA) were linked to the bacterial hygromycin (Hy) phosphotransferase-encoding gene (hph) and this chimeric marker was used to select Hy-resistant (HyR) Ustilago maydis transformants. This is an example of an Ascomycete promoter functioning in a Basidiomycete. HyR transformants varied with respect to copy number of integr...

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 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...

The MAT region of Ustilago hordei, a bipolar barley pathogen, harbors distinct mating functions (a and b loci). Here, we show that the b locus is essential for mating and pathogenicity, and can induce pathogenicity when introduced into a strain carrying a b locus of opposite specificity. Transformation experiments using components of the a1 locus and analysis of resulting dual mating phenotypes...

The toxicity of Ustilago maydis and the possible synergism with fumonisin B1 (FB1) were studied in Fischer rats by evaluating pathological changes and biochemical parameters in blood serum (LDH, ALT, GGT, ChE) and tissue homogenate of brain and liver (AChE, ChE, GGT, ALP). One experimental group (US) consumed diet with 70% of U. maydis galls and the other group (US+FB1) was fed pellets containi...

The Ustilago maydis-maize pathosystem has emerged as the current model for plant pathogenic basidiomycetes and as one of the few models for a true biotrophic interaction that persists throughout fungal development inside the host plant. This is based on the highly advanced genetic system for both the pathogen and its host, the ability to propagate U. maydis in axenic culture, and its unique cap...

Fungal Lipids, Ergosterol, Inhibition, Etaconazole, Fungicide The triazole fungicide etaconazole (C G A 64 251) interferes with the ergosterol biosynthesis in Ustilago maydis by inhibiting the C-14 demethylation o f the sterol nucleus. During the late log growth phase o f U. maydis a novel endogenous sterol metabolite (14x-methyl-ergosta-8,24(28)dien-3/?,6a-diol) was discovered and analyzed, wh...

The fungus Ustilago maydis represents one of the major threats to maize plants since it is responsible for corn smut disease, which generates considerable economical losses around world. Therefore, contributing a better understanding biochemistry defense mechanisms used by U. protect itself against harsh environments, such as synthesis melanin, could provide improved biological tools tackling p...