AUTHOR=Wang Ning , Fan Xin , Zhang Shan , Liu Bo , He Mengying , Chen Xianming , Tang Chunlei , Kang Zhensheng , Wang Xiaojie 

TITLE=Identification of a Hyperparasitic Simplicillium obclavatum Strain Affecting the Infection Dynamics of Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici on Wheat

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2020.01277

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2020.01277

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>Wheat stripe rust, caused by <italic>Puccinia striiformis</italic> f. sp. <italic>tritici</italic> (<italic>Pst</italic>), is one of the most serious threats to wheat production worldwide. Changes of <italic>Pst</italic> virulence may circumvent resistance in wheat varieties, and application of fungicides may cause environmental problems. Parasites of <italic>Pst</italic> can be used to develop biological agents for environmentally friendly control of this fungal disease. Here, we report a hyperparasitic fungus isolated from <italic>Pst</italic> and identified it as <italic>Simplicillium obclavatum</italic> through molecular and morphological characterizations. We demonstrated that inoculation of <italic>Pst</italic>-infected wheat leaves with <italic>S</italic>. <italic>obclavatum</italic> reduced the production and germination rate of <italic>Pst</italic> urediniospores. Therefore, <italic>S. obclavatum</italic> has the potential to be developed into a biological control agent for managing wheat stripe rust.</p>