| Microbotryum violaceum | |
|---|---|
) | |
| Microbotryum violaceum on Silene alba | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
| Phylum: | |
| 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
M. violaceum can infect and sterilize the plant species Silene latifolia by acting like a sexually transmitted infection.
References
External links