1,2,3,4 Department of Botany, Yashwantrao Chavan Institute of Science, Sadar Bazar, Godoli Satara, Maharashtra 415001, India
1 snehalpawar16192@gmail.com, 2 sachinthiteg4@gmail.com,
3 kabhijit@ymail.com, 4 basavaraj.kore@rediffmail.com (corresponding author)
doi: http://doi.org/10.11609/jott.3630.10.2.11354-11355
Editor: R.K. Verma, Tropical Forest Research Institute, Jabalpur, India. Date of publication: 26 Febraury 2018 (online & print)
Manuscript details: Ms # 3630 | Received 05 July 2017 | Final received 22 January 2018 | Finally accepted 06 February 2018
Citation: Pawar, S.D., S.V Thite, A.S. Kadam & B.A. Kore (2018). First report of rust fungi Puccinia duthiae on Dichanthium foveolatum from India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 10(2): 11354–11355; http://doi.org/10.11609/jott.3630.10.2.11354-11355
Copyright: © Pawar et al. 2018. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. JoTT allows unrestricted use of this article in any medium, reproduction and distribution by providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of publication.
Funding: None.
Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.
Acknowledgements: We specially thank Dr Markus Scholler (Germany, Karlsruhe) for identifying Puccinia duthiae, for depositing a specimen in herbarium KR and for providing a photograph of the specimen. We sincerely thank Dr. P.B. Chavan for providing literature on rusts. Thanks are also due to Principal of College and HOD of Botany Dept.
Among plant pathogens, fungi are most important natural pathogens. The Uredinales, commonly known as rusts occur on cultivated and wild plants throughout the world. The rust fungi (Basidiomycetes, Uredinales) are biotrophs with complex life cycles producing pleomorphic spores showing autocious or heterocious nature displaying evolution of heteroecism. Because of this nature they spread wide and adapt to varied habitats. For their geographical distribution primarily they depend on their hosts. Rusts are used as bio-control agents in the management of some weeds.
Material and Methods: In a continued exploration of rusts on various hosts, specimens of grass were collected from various localities in Satara District (17.6914010N & 74.0009380E), from November 2015 to February 2016. During the study period (winter) many localities were regularly visited (at 15 days interval) to inspect progress in disease development and other life cycle stages of rust. Almost every specimen of host in the population at different localities was rusted. The symptoms were observed on leaves only and not on any other aerial plant parts. The specimens were examined microscopically and digital images were captured with a camera in the field and laboratory. The reference specimen was deposited at the Natural History Museum, Karlsruhe, Germany (KR-M-0048297).
Result and Discussion: The pathogen caused typical rust symptoms with orange and dark brown pustules on leaves of grass (Image 1b). The host grass was identified as Dichanthium foveolatum (Del.) Roberty. (=earlier names Andropogon foveolatus, Eremopogon foveolatus) (Yadav & Sardesai 2002) (Image 1a). It is one of the fodder grasses naturally growing on hill slopes. Microscopic examination revealed that the pathogen is Puccinia duthiae Ell. & Tracy and it is a new pathogen for host D. foveolatum causing rust. The rust taxon P. duthiae (Puccinia amphilophidis Doidge) was established by Ellis & Tracy (1897). P. duthiae also infects species of Andropogon, Bothriochola from Australia, China, Tanzania and South Africa (Cummins 1971).
This pathogen had caused rust on the grass Andropogon pertusus (=Bothricola pertusus) in Saharanpur (Cummin 1971), Kasauli (Himachal Pradesh), Dehradun (Uttarakhand), Pune (Maharashtra), Phulguru, Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh), Dharwar (Karanataka) and Rajgir (Bihar) (Gautam & Avasthi 2016). A literature survey states that uredinial and telial stages of P. duthiae on the new host D. foveolatum has been described for the first time from Satara (Maharashtra) (Bilgrami et al. 1991; Jamaluddin et al. 2004). Air born Urediniospores disperse in grasslands and cause 90% infections in the field.
Puccinia duthiae Ell. & Tracy
= Puccinia amphilophidis Doidge
Aecia and spermogonia unknown. Uredinia and telia intermixed, uredinia more than telia. Uredinia mostly on abaxial leaf surface, hypophyllous, scattered between veins, erumpent, cinnamon brown, up to 1mm wide, paraphysate (Image 1c). Urediniospores oval, echinulate, stalked, apex usually darker, 19.3–28.4 µm, cinnamon brown, germ pores 4–5,equatorial, paraphyses capitate, mostly lemon yellow ,the wall usually thick in the stipe 96.5µm (Image 1d). Telia mostly on abaxial leaf surface, hypophyllous, scattered between veins, erumpent, blackish brown colour, up to 1mm wide (Image 1c).Teliospores two-celled, broadly ellipsoid, broad at apex narrowing at base, 33.9–41.5 µm x 27.5–30.5 µm, wallthick, smooth, chestnut brown, broader at apex than at sides, pedicel 45,0-68.8µm,yellowish to brown (Image 1e).
References
Bilgrami, K.S. Jamaluddin & M.A. Rizwi (1991). The Fungi of India. Part III (List and References). Today and Tomorrow’s Printer and Publishers, New Delhi, 798pp.
Cummins, G.B. (1971). The Rust Fungi of Cereals, Grasses, Bamboos. Springer-Verlag, New York, 570pp.
Ellis, J.B. & S.M. Tracy (1897). New species of North American fungi from various localities. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 24: 283.
Gautam, A.K. & S. Avasthi (2016). First check list of rust fungi in the genus Puccinia from Himachal Pradesh, India. Plant Pathology and Quarantine 6(2): 106–120.
Jamaluddin, M.G. Goswami & B.M. Ojha (2004). Fungi of India. Scientific Publishers, Jodhpur, 324pp.
Yadav, S.R. & M.M. Sardesai (2002). Flora of Kolhapur District. Shivaji University, Kolhapur (M.S.) India, 680pp.
