Smut fungi: a compendium of their diversity and distribution in India
Ajay Kumar Gautam1, Rajnish Kumar Verma2, Shubhi Avasthi3, Sushma4, Bandarupalli Devadatha5, Shivani Thakur4, Prem Lal Kashyap6, Indu Bhushan Prasher7, Rekha Bhadauria3, Mekala Niranjan8, Kiran Ramchandra Ranadive9
Affiliations
1School of Agriculture, Abhilashi University, Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, 175028, India
2Department of Plant Pathology, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, 141004, India
3School of Studies in Botany, Jiwaji University, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, 474011, India
4Department of Biosciences, Chandigarh University Gharuan, Punjab, India
5Fungal Biotechnology Lab, Department of Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Pondicherry University, Kalapet, Pondicherry, 605014, India
6ICAR-Indian Institute of Wheat and Barley Research (IIWBR), Karnal, Haryana, India
7Department of Botany, Mycology and Plant Pathology Laboratory, Panjab University Chandigarh, 160014, India
8Department of Botany, Rajiv Gandhi University, Rono Hills, Doimukh, Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh-791112, India
9Department of Botany, P.D.E.A.’s Annasaheb Magar Mahavidyalaya, Mahadevnagar, Hadapsar, Pune, Maharashtra, India
Abstract
A compendium of Indian smut fungi with respect to their diversity and distribution is provided in this paper. After compiling all the information available in online and offline resources, it was revealed that Indian smut fungi comprise 18 genera and 159 species belonging to five families. About 189 host plant species belonging to eight families are reportedly infected by smut fungi, with Poaceae being the most infected. The genus Ustilago was reported with the highest number of species (48) from India, accounting for 30.38% of the total number of species. Ustilago was followed by Sporisorium and Anthracocystis. Other genera recorded from India include Ahmadiago, Bambusiomyces, Cintractia, Clinoconidium, Eriocaulago, Farysia, Franzpetrakia, Macalpinomyces, Melanopsichium, Melanotaenium, Moesziomyces, Pericladium, Stollia, Tolyposporium, and Tranzscheliella. The dispersed literature of Indian smut fungi, caused by the inaccessibility of literature on online platforms and the ceased publications of many journals, poses difficulties for researchers, especially young and emerging mycologists working on or starting taxonomic work on smut fungi. This paper provides a complete account of the diversity and distribution of Indian smut fungi in a single-source document, benefiting national and international students and plant pathologists working on smut fungi.
Citation
Gautam AK, Verma RK, Avasthi S, Sushma, Devadatha B, Thakur S, Kashyap PL, Prasher IB, Bhadauria R, Niranjan M, Ranadive KR (2021) Smut fungi: a compendium of their diversity and distribution in India. MycoAsia 2021/01. https://doi.org/10.59265/mycoasia.2021-01
Submission History
Received: 01.11.2020
Accepted: 14.03.2021
Published: 14.03.2021
Editorial Team
Handling Editor: Dr. Samantha C. Karunarathna
Reviewers: Dr. Biao Xu, Dr. Gunjan Sharma, Dr. Belle Damodara Shenoy