Open AccessGaeumannomyces graminis , the take‐all fungus and its relatives
Author(s) -
FREEMAN JACQUELINE,
WARD ELAINE
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
molecular plant pathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.945
H-Index - 103
eISSN - 1364-3703
pISSN - 1464-6722
DOI - 10.1111/j.1364-3703.2004.00226.x
Subject(s) - take all , biology , fungus , disease , pathogenicity , identification (biology) , microbiology and biotechnology , botany , pathology , medicine
SUMMARY Take‐all, caused by the fungus Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici , is the most important root disease of wheat worldwide. Many years of intensive research, reflected by the large volume of literature on take‐all, has led to a considerable degree of understanding of many aspects of the disease. However, effective and economic control of the disease remains difficult. The application of molecular techniques to study G. graminis and related fungi has resulted in some significant advances, particularly in the development of improved methods for identification and in elucidating the role of the enzyme avenacinase as a pathogenicity determinant in the closely related oat take‐all fungus ( G. graminis var. avenae ). Some progress in identifying other factors that may be involved in determining host range and pathogenicity has been made, despite the difficulties of performing genetic analyses and the lack of a reliable transformation system.