A revision of the genus Lomaantha, with the description of a new species.

Lomaantha phragmitis sp. nov. is described and illustrated from a specimen collected on dead culms of Phragmites communis in southern China.

Elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations amplify Alternaria alternata sporulation and total antigen production.

Background: Although the effect of elevated carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration on pollen production has been established in some plant species, impacts on fungal sporulation and antigen production have not been elucidated.

Objective: Our purpose was to examine the effects of rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations on the quantity and quality of fungal spores produced on timothy (Phleum pratense) leaves.

Methods: Timothy plants were grown at four CO2 concentrations (300, 400, 500, and 600 micromol/mol).

Ulocladium cantlous sp. nov. isolated from northwestern China: its morphology and molecular phylogenetic position.

A new species of Ulocladium was isolated from diseased leaves from two Cucumis sp. growing in Sinkiang and Gansu provinces of China. Conidia were isolated from necrotic leaves and used to establish single-spore pure cultures.

Functional analysis of Pcipg2 from the straminopilous plant pathogen Phytophthora capsici.

Phytophthora capsici causes serious diseases in numerous crop plants. Polygalacturonases (PGs) are cell wall-degrading enzymes that play an important role in pathogenesis in straminopilous pathogens. To understand PGs as they relate to the virulence of P.

Environmental Influences on the Release of Ophiosphaerella agrostis Ascospores Under Controlled and Field Conditions.

ABSTRACT Ophiosphaerella agrostis, the causal agent of dead spot of creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera), can produce prodigious numbers of pseudothecia and ascospores throughout the summer. The environmental conditions and seasonal timings associated with O. agrostis ascospore release are unknown.

Genetic Diversity Among Ophiosphaerella agrostis Strains Causing Dead Spot in Creeping Bentgrass.

Dead spot (Ophiosphaerella agrostis) is a relatively new disease of young creeping bentgrass and hybrid bermudagrass putting greens in the United States. Little is known about the biology or genetic diversity of the pathogen. O.

A PCR-Based Method for the Detection of Ophiosphaerella agrostis in Creeping Bentgrass.

Dead spot is a relatively new disease of creeping bentgrass and hybrid bermudagrass that is incited by Ophiosphaerella agrostis. Initial symptoms are difficult to diagnose and clinicians generally rely on the presence of pseudothecia within infected tissue or isolation of O. agrostis on an artificial medium.

Reactions in the Annual Medicago spp. Core Germ Plasm Collection to Phoma medicaginis.

The annual Medicago spp. core collection, consisting of 201 accessions, represents the genetic diversity inherent in 3,159 accessions from 36 annual Medicago spp. This germ plasm was evaluated for resistance to spring black stem and leaf spot caused by Phoma medicaginis.

AFLP Comparisons Among Claviceps africana Isolates from the United States, Mexico, Africa, Australia, India, and Japan.

Eighty-seven isolates of the sorghum ergot pathogen, Claviceps africana, from diverse geographic locations were analyzed using four different amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) primer combinations to determine genetic relationships among isolates. Most isolates showed unique AFLP haplotypes, indicating that substantial genetic variation is present within C. africana populations.

Phylogeny of Stemphylium spp. based on ITS and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase gene sequences.

The phylogenetic relationships among 44 isolates representing 16 species of Stemphylium were inferred from ITS and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (gpd) sequence data. The results generally agree with morphological species concepts. There was strong support for monophyly of the genus Stemphylium.

Molecular phylogeny of Leptosphaeria and Phaeosphaeria.

The objectives of this study were to determine the phylogenetic relationships of species of Leptosphaeria and Phaeosphaeria and evaluate the phylogenetic significance of morphological characters of the teleomorph, anamorph, and host. Sequences of the entire ITS region, including the 5.8S rDNA, of 59 isolates representing 54 species were analyzed and the phylogeny inferred using parsimony and distance analyses.

Sources of Resistance to Anthracnose in the Annual Medicago Core Collection.

The annual genus Medicago core collection, consisting of 201 accessions, represents the genetic diversity inherent in 3,159 accessions from 36 annual Medicago species. This germ plasm was evaluated for resistance to anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum trifolii. Anthracnose is a major disease in perennial alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.