Phyllachora species infecting maize and other grass species in the Americas represents a complex of closely related species.

ABSTRACT: The genus Phyllachora contains numerous obligate fungal parasites that produce raised, melanized structures called stromata on their plant hosts referred to as tar spot. Members of this genus are known to infect many grass species but generally do not cause significant damage or defoliation, with the exception of P. maydis which has emerged as an important pathogen of maize throughout the Americas, but the origin of this pathogen remains unknown. To date, species designations for Phyllachora have been based on host associations and morphology, and most species are assumed to be host specific. We assessed the sequence diversity of 186 single stroma isolates collected from 16 hosts representing 15 countries. Samples included both herbarium and contemporary strains

SUBMITTER: Broders K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9036037 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature