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...

BACKGROUND Septins are a highly conserved family of GTP-binding proteins involved in multiple cellular functions, including cell division and morphogenesis. Studies of septins in fungal cells underpin a clear correlation between septin-based structures and fungal morphology, providing clues to understand the molecular frame behind the varied morphologies found in fungal world. METHODOLOGY/PRI...

BACKGROUND In the last years, the biotechnological production of platform chemicals for fuel components has become a major focus of interest. Although ligno-cellulosic material is considered as suitable feedstock, the almost inevitable pretreatment of this recalcitrant material may interfere with the subsequent fermentation steps. In this study, the fungus Ustilago maydis was used to produce it...

Ustilago maydis is a biotrophic pathogen causing maize (Zea mays) smut disease. Transcriptome profiling of infected maize plants indicated that a gene encoding a putative cystatin (CC9) is induced upon penetration by U. maydis wild type. By contrast, cc9 is not induced after infection with the U. maydis effector mutant Δpep1, which elicits massive plant defenses. Silencing of cc9 resulted in a ...

Cercospora zeae-maydis causes gray leaf spot of maize, which has become one of the most widespread and destructive diseases of maize in the world. C. zeae-maydis infects leaves through stomata, which is predicated on the ability of the pathogen to perceive stomata and reorient growth accordingly. In this study, the discovery that light was required for C. zeae-maydis to perceive stomata and inf...

Our understanding of how cell cycle regulation and virulence are coordinated during the induction of fungal pathogenesis is limited. In the maize smut fungus Ustilago maydis, pathogenesis and sexual development are intricately interconnected. Furthermore, the first step in the infection process is mating, and this is linked to the cell cycle. In this study, we have identified a new G1 cyclin ge...

Maydis leaf blight (MLB) incited by Bipolaris maydis occurs in most of the maize growing regions. Present study revealed morphological divergence among 74 isolates B. collected from geographically distant places India. Based on morpho-cultural features clustered R software, 25 representative were used for race identification. The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence further confirmed as m...

The genus Cercospora consists of numerous important, apparently asexual plant pathogens. We designed degenerate primers from homologous sequences in related species to amplify part of the C. apii, C. apiicola, C. beticola, C. zeae-maydis and C. zeina mating type genes. Chromosome walking was used to determine the full length mating type genes of these species. Primers were developed to amplify ...

Mating of compatible haploid cells of Ustilago maydis is essential for infection and disease development in the host. For mating and subsequent filamentous growth and pathogenicity, the transcription factor, prf1 is necessary. Prf1 is in turn regulated by the cAMP and MAPK pathways and other regulators like rop1 and hap1. Here we describe the identification of another putative Prf1 regulator, m...

Little is known about the population mating behavior of the smut fungus Ustilago maydis DC (Corda). To determine the amount of inbreeding that occurs in local U. maydis populations, two cornfields were sampled, one in North America (NA) at Le Sueur, Minnesota, and one in South America (SA) at Tarariras, Uruguay. These fields were chosen because of their geographic isolation and host management ...