Sterols, a class of lipids found in the cellular membranes of all eukaryotes, have vital roles in regulating membrane fluidity and permeability. While animal cells contain cholesterol in their membranes, plant cells contain phytosterols such as campesterol, sitosterol, and stigmasterol. The sterol ergosterol, discovered more than a century ago from the ergot fungus Claviceps purpurea [1], is a ...

Five smut fungi viz. Microbotryum scorzonerae on Scorzonera caliculata, Sporisorium aristidae-lanuginosae on Stipagrostisplumosa, Sporisorium desertorum on Lasiurus sindicus, Sporisorium foveolati on Dichanthium foveolatum,and Sporisorium vanderystii on Hyparrhenia hirta are reported for the first time for Iranian mycobiota. Sporisorium foveolati is also probably new to Asia. Bellevalia saviczi...

This is the first publication dedicated to the diversity of smut fungi in Panama based on field work, the study of herbarium specimens, and references taken from literature. It includes smuts parasitizing cultivated and wild plants. The latter are mostly found in rural vegetation. Among the 24 species cited here, 14 species are recorded for the first time for Panama. One of them, Sporisorium ov...

Volatile organic compounds produced by the fungus Muscodor albus inhibit or kill numerous fungi. The effect of these volatiles was tested on dormant and physiologically active teliospores of the smut fungi Tilletia horrida, Tilletia indica, and Tilletia tritici, which cause kernel smut of rice, Karnal bunt of wheat, and common bunt of wheat, respectively. Reactivated rye grain culture of M. alb...

The anther smut fungi in the ustilaginomycetous genus Antherospora (Floromycetaceae, Urocystidales) that infect monocots, are currently placed in nine species. Against the background of the generally observed high host specificity in smut fungi, the broad host range reported for some of the species suggests much higher diversity. Antherospora vaillantii s. lato includes anther smuts on differen...

The basidiomycete Ustilago maydis causes smut disease in maize, with large plant tumors being formed as the most prominent disease symptoms. During all steps of infection, U. maydis depends on a biotrophic interaction, which requires an efficient suppression of plant immunity. In a previous study, we identified the secreted effector protein Pit2, which is essential for maintenance of biotrophy ...

Sexual compatibility requires self vs. non-self recognition. Genetically, two compatibility or mating-type systems govern recognition in heterothallic basidiomycete fungi such as the edible and woodrotting mushrooms and the economically important rust and smut phytopathogens. A bipolar system is defined by a single genetic locus (MAT) that can have two or multiple alleles. A tetrapolar system h...