Naser Safaie

Jul 24, 2023 | frontiersin.org | jinhua Academy |Naser Safaie |Mohini Singh |Orlando Borras-Hidalgo

1. IntroductionUstilago esculenta is a type of biotrophic fungus that obligately parasitizes the perennial herb, Zizania latifolia, inducing gall formation at the tip of the plant stem. There are two types of U. esculenta, namely teliospore (T) and mycelium & teliospore (MT). The infection of T-type U. esculenta induces the host plant to form smut gall with abundant teliospores (referred to as “gray jiaobai” in Chinese), while the infection of MT-type U.