Abstract
Ustilago maydis is a basidiomycete known as the causative agent of 'common smut', worldwide disease of maize that is recognized by the galls it forms, which have considerable potential as a gourmet food. Results of infection are quite variable, even under optimal greenhouse conditions. In order to find pathogenic strains able to be used as a highly infective and stable inoculum for the successful production of galls either in greenhouses or in the field, ears with gall symptoms containing teliospores were recovered from maize plants. The teliospores were suspended in water and plated on nutrient-rich medium. Twenty-six colonies developed, containing three types of yeast-like colonies: saprotrophic, pathogenic, and solopathogenic. DAPI staining confirmed the presence of solopathogenic strains with diploid sporidia. Groups of different mating types were found when pairs of the 26 strains were arranged resembling partial-diallel combinations. Amplification of the partial b locus revealed that the strains found harbor the alleles b3 and b4, allowing the formation in dikaryotic strains of heterodimeric regulatory proteins associated with fungal development and pathogenicity. In this study, we isolated compatible haploid and solopathogenic diploid strains for their high capacity for inducing smut.
Highlights
The heterothallic basidiomycete, Ustilago maydis, is a fungal pathogen of maize (Zea mays) causing ‘common smut’ disease (Christensen 1963)
Ustilago maydis is a basidiomycete known as the causative agent of ‘common smut’, worldwide disease of maize that is recognized by the galls it forms, which have considerable potential as a gourmet food
Amplification of the partial b locus revealed that the strains found harbor the alleles b3 and b4, allowing the formation in dikaryotic strains of heterodimeric regulatory proteins associated with fungal development and pathogenicity
Summary
The heterothallic basidiomycete, Ustilago maydis, is a fungal pathogen of maize (Zea mays) causing ‘common smut’ disease (Christensen 1963). 2 %) under field conditions due to this pathogen. These losses are small in fractional terms, and can be argued that their commercial value is significant where production levels are especially high as in the USA and China that produce 313 and 192 million tonnes, respectively (FAOSTAT 2013). Maize smut is a common disease worldwide, with a significant economic impact on corn sector (Djamei & Kahmann 2012). U. maydis is a good model for fungal genetics, and it is considered one of the topten pathogens in molecular plant pathology (Dean et al 2012).
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