Mating type loci analysis indicates that Villosiclava virens, the casual agent of false smut disease of rice, is a homothallic fungus

Abstract

Villosiclava virens (anamorph: Ustilaginoidea virens) was isolated from infected rice plants, where it caused false smut. Similar to other ascomycetes, the sexual compatibility of V. virens is controlled by the mating type (MAT) locus. In this study, we applied a PCR-based approach to screen mating type genes in the single asexual spore isolate. Our results showed that V. virens possesses the two master genes required for mating (MAT1-1-1 and MAT1-2-1), suggesting that this fungus is likely to be homothallic. Mating type primer pairs were developed to genotype the single ascospore isolates from different places in China. These analyses provided further evidence that V. virens is a homothallic species and suggest novel genetic mechanisms of sexual reproduction in V. virens.