Plant Pathology (2014) 63, 1022-1026

G.M.A. Carvalho, C.R. Carvalho, R.W. Barreto and H.C. Evans (2014)
Coffee rust genome measured using flow cytometry: does size matter?
Plant Pathology 63 (5), 1022-1026
Abstract: The genome size of most rust species is unknown due, in part, to technical constraints, especially the difficulty in accessing spores to extract the nuclei for cytometry. Using the urediniospores of coffee rust, Hemileia vastatrix, an improved methodology involving flow cytometry was developed for accurate measurement of the nuclear genome size. The results revealed that the genome of this primitive rust fungus is unusually large – measuring 1C-value = 0·75 pg (733·5 Mb) – significantly bigger than other species quantified thus far in the more advanced rust lineages. The evolutionary consequences and the potential ecological constraints of this large genome size are discussed in relation to the epidemiology of coffee rust.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Harry C. Evans, Robert Weingart Barreto

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
molecular biology - genes

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Hemileia vastatrix