A novel fungal hyperparasite of Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici, the causal agent of wheat stripe rust

PLoS One. 2014 Nov 4;9(11):e111484. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0111484. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst), the causal fungus of wheat stripe rust, was previously reported to be infected by Lecanicillium lecanii, Microdochium nivale and Typhula idahoensis. Here, we report a novel hyperparasite on Pst. This hyperparasitic fungus was identified as Cladosporium cladosporioides (Fresen.) GA de Vries based on morphological characteristics observed by light and scanning electron microscopy together with molecular data. The hyperparasite reduced the production and viability of urediniospores and, therefore, could potentially be used for biological control of wheat stripe rust.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Basidiomycota / cytology*
  • Basidiomycota / physiology
  • Cladosporium / genetics
  • Cladosporium / pathogenicity
  • Cladosporium / physiology*
  • Host-Parasite Interactions*
  • Phylogeny
  • Plant Diseases / microbiology*
  • Plant Diseases / prevention & control*
  • Triticum / microbiology*

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the National Key Basic Research Program of China (2013CB127700), Special Fund for Agro-scientific Research in the Public Interest (No. 201303023), the Nature Science Foundation of China (31371882), and the 111 Project from the Ministry of Education of China (No. B07049). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.