| Microbotryum violaceum | |
|---|---|
| Microbotryum violaceum on Silene alba | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Basidiomycota |
| Class: | Microbotryomycetes |
| Order: | Microbotryales |
| Family: | Microbotryaceae |
| Genus: | Microbotryum |
| Species: | M. violaceum
|
| Binomial name | |
| Microbotryum violaceum (Pers.) G. Deml & Oberw., (1982)
| |
| Synonyms | |
|
Caeoma antherarum (DC.) Nees (1816) | |
Microbotryum violaceum, also known as the anther smut fungus, was formerly known as Ustilago violacea. It is a basidiomycete obligate parasite of many Caryophyllaceae. But it has now separated into many species due to its host specificity.
Meiosis in M. violaceum produces a tetrad of four haploid meiotic products. Pairwise intra-tetrad mating can occur between these meiotic products.[1]
Examples
[edit]Microbotryum violaceum can infect and sterilize the plant species Silene latifolia by acting like a sexually transmitted infection.
References
[edit]- ^ Hood, ME; Antonovics, J (2000). "Intratetrad mating, heterozygosity, and the maintenance of deleterious alleles in Microbotryum violaceum (=Ustilago violacea)". Heredity (Edinb). 85 Pt 3: 231–41. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2540.2000.00748.x. PMID 11012726.