Bipolaris sorokiniana (=Cochliobolus sativus) is a filamentous fungus, which belongs to the family Pleosporaceae in the order Pleosporales of Dothideomycetes. The fungus can cause serious diseases on root (known as common root rot), leaf and stem (known as spot blotch), and head tissue (known as black point and glume blight) on a wide variety of cereals. The two most common and economically important diseases caused by B. sorokiniana are spot blotch and common root rot, mainly on wheat and barley crops. B. sorokiniana also attacks many grasses, including switch grass (Panicum virgatum L.) that is currently being developed as a source of biomass for biofuel and bioproduct production as well as Brachypodium distachyon that is being used as a new model system for functional genomics in grasses. Isolates of B. sorokiniana vary in pathogenicity and virulence on different host species or different genotypes of the same host species. Different pathotypes of the fungus have been identified based on their virulence on three barley genotypes (Bowman, ND 5883, and ND B112). B. sorokiniana isolate ND93-1 was derived as a single conidial culture from a blighted kernel of barley cultivar Robust (PI 476976) collected in 1993 from Walsh County, North Dakota, USA. It exhibits low virulence on the three barley genotypes Bowman, ND5883, and ND B112, and therefore is classified as Pathotype 0 isolate. A genetic map was developed using progenies derived from a cross between ND93-1 and ND90Pr.
References:
- Valjavec-Gratian M, Steffenson BJ (1997a) Pathotypes of Cochliobolus sativus on barley. Plant Dis 81:1275–1278.
- Valjavec-Gratian M, Steffenson BJ (1997b) Genetics of virulence in Cochliobolus sativus and resistance in barley. Phytopathology 87:1140–1143.
- Zhong S, Steffenson BJ, Martinez JP, and Ciuffetti LM (2002) A molecular genetic map and electrophoretic karyotype of the plant pathogenic fungus Cochliobolus sativus. Mol. Plant-Microbe Interact. 15:481-492.
