Biotrophic fungal plant pathogens establish an intimate relationship with their host to support
the infection process. Central to this strategy is the secretion of a range of protein effectors …

The Ustilago maydis–maize pathosystem has emerged as the current model for plant
pathogenic basidiomycetes and as one of the few models for a true biotrophic interaction …

The maize pathogen Ustilago maydis has to undergo various morphological transitions for
the completion of its sexual life cycle. For example, haploid cells respond to pheromone by …

To gain entry to plants, many pathogenic fungi develop specialized infection structures
called appressoria. Here, we demonstrate that appressorium morphogenesis in the rice …

Pheromones are ubiquitous from bacteria to mammals–a testament to their importance in
regulating inter-cellular communication. In fungal species, they play a critical role in …

The plant pathogenic fungus Ustilago maydis induces disease only in its dikaryotic stage
that is generated after mating. This process involves coordinated cAMP and mitogen …

The use of fungal model systems, such as Saccharomyces cerevisisae and
Schizosaccharomyces pombe, has contributed enormously to our understanding of …

Sexual reproduction likely evolved as protection from environmental stresses, specifically, to
repair DNA damage, often via homologous recombination. In higher eukaryotes, meiosis …

The smut fungus Ustilago maydis is a ubiquitous pathogen of corn. Although of minor
economical importance, U. maydis has become the most attractive model among the plant …

Fungal chitin synthases (CHSs) form fibers of the cell wall and are crucial for substrate
invasion and pathogenicity. Filamentous fungi contain up to 10 CHSs, which might reflect …