Abstract
During the inspection of imported sweet corn (Zea mays), a specimen with dry rot symptoms was detected by Ministry for Primary Industries quarantine officers. A sample was sent to the MPI Plant Health and Environment Laboratory for diagnostics, and initial examination found a layer of yeast cells on the surface of the symptomatic tissue. The fungus was cultured and identified based on DNA sequences as Ustilago maydis. While the corn-smut pathogen U. maydis is well known to cause tumour like galls on corn kernels, it is a less recognised fact that this fungus can also grow as a yeast. To determine if the yeast stage could have been associated with the dry-rot symptoms observed on the specimen, healthy material was inoculated with the isolated U. maydis strain. No symptoms developed on inoculated material, indicating that the yeast cells were likely multiplying on the surface of the cut corn ear as saprobes. To our knowledge, this is the first report of U. maydis yeast stage on corn ears and indicates a previously unconsidered pathway for the organism. For the yeast stage to cause disease, mating with a compatible mating type on the surface of a living host plant would be required.
Abstract from the paper’s OpenAlex record, shown for indexing and research. Copyright remains with the authors or the publisher. Read at the source ↗
The text the model read, with the source record’s inline markup (italics, sub- and superscripts) rendered and its character entities decoded; quote offsets refer to the raw text.
Claims 6
Claim · model-written summary
A dry-rot symptomatic imported sweet-corn specimen had a surface layer of yeast cells.
Not reportedInteractorInteractor role
Verbatim
e0“a specimen with dry rot symptoms was detected”
t0“sweet corn”
Claim · model-written summary
The cultured fungus from symptomatic corn was identified by DNA sequence as Ustilago maydis.
- Taxon
- sweet cornt0
- Interactor
- Ustilago maydis
Mycosarcoma maydise0pathogen - Outcome
- identified based on DNA sequences as Ustilago maydise0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The fungus was cultured and identified based on DNA sequences as Ustilago maydis”
t0“sweet corn”
Claim · model-written summary
Inoculation of healthy corn with the isolated U. maydis strain produced no symptoms.
- Taxon
- sweet cornt0
- Treatment
- inoculated with the isolated U. maydis straine0
- Interactor
- U. maydisMycosarcoma maydise0pathogen
- Outcome
- No symptoms developede0
Not reportedComparatorDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“healthy material was inoculated with the isolated U. maydis strain. No symptoms developed on inoculated material”
t0“sweet corn”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors inferred that U. maydis yeast cells likely multiplied as saprobes on cut corn ears.
Verbatim
e0“the yeast cells were likely multiplying on the surface of the cut corn ear as saprobes”
t0“sweet corn”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors reported this as the first observation of the U. maydis yeast stage on corn ears.
- Taxon
- corn
Zea mays subsp. mayse0 - Interactor
- U. maydisMycosarcoma maydise0pathogen
- Outcome
- U. maydis yeast stage on corn earse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“this is the first report of U. maydis yeast stage on corn ears”
Claim · model-written summary
The yeast-stage observation indicated a previously unconsidered pathway for U. maydis.
Verbatim
e0“indicates a previously unconsidered pathway for the organism”
t0“sweet corn”
The same questions in other papers
Mycosarcoma maydis · disease · Zea mays (maize)Positive and negative results
1 paper in the same direction as this paper · 2 in the opposite direction
- positive
- positive
- negative
inoculation · disease · Zea mays (maize)Positive and negative results
66 papers in the same direction as this paper · 93 in the opposite direction
- positive
- positive
- positive
156 papers more in this group
See all 160 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.