Live-cell imaging of the Cochliobolus lunatus m118 mycelia. Nuclei are tagged by GFP, membranes are stained with SynaptoRed. Picture by M. Bencina & N. Krasevec, National Institute of Chemistry, Slovenia

The Dothideomycetes fungus Cochliobolus lunatus m118, anamorph Curvularia lunata var. lunata, belongs to a family of many important cereal pathogens, and is a pathogen of sorghum, but can also be an opportunistic human pathogen. The strain was selected long ago as a prospective microorganism for steroid biotransformation in the laboratories of Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany. It is deposited in the Mycotheque de l’Universite Catholique de Louvain, Belgium (MUCL 38696).

Sorghum is the fifth most important cereal crop in the world and fungal infections cause significant economic losses. This African grass, related to sugar cane and maize, is grown for food, fodder, alcoholic beverage and biofuel production. Fungi belonging to more than 40 genera are reported to be associated with sorghum grain mold disease; C. lunatus, Fusarium verticillioides, and Alternaria alternata are among the more devastating. The genome sequence of the host organism Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench is available, which facilitates understanding of the host-pathogen relationship.