Kingdom Fungi Rank Species | Scientific name Corynespora cassiicola | |
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Similar Cercospora, Colletotrichum, Septoria glycines, Curvularia, Phakopsora pachyrhizi | ||
Corynespora cassiicola is a species of fungus well known as a plant pathogen. It is a sac fungus in the family Corynesporascaceae. It is the type species of the genus Corynespora.
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Hosts
This fungus infects over 530 species of plants in 53 families. It is most common in the tropics and subtropics. It has also been isolated from nematodes and from human skin.
The fungus is known as a pathogen of many agricultural crop plants, especially cowpea, cucumber, papaya, rubber, soybean, and tomato. It has caused crop failures resulting in high economic losses in over 70 countries, including losses of over US$3000 per acre in tomato crops in Florida in the United States. On several plants, such as tomatoes, the fungus causes a disease called target spot or target leaf spot. The disease is identified by leaf damage taking the form of target-shaped spots with light centres and dark margins, as well as pits on the fruit. The fungus also causes a disease on the cultivated rubber tree Hevea brasiliensis called corynespora leaf fall (CLF). It is one of the most economically significant fungal pathogens of rubber trees in Asia and Africa, causing "fishbone"- or "railway track"-shaped lesions on the leaves.
Research
The fungus has been the subject of genetic analysis, which revealed that it has a high genetic diversity. Results of this variation within the species include its ability to adapt to many hosts and many environments, and its ability to cause different kinds of disease states in its host plants. Several isolates of the fungus have recently proven to be resistant to the fungicide benzimidazole, making the fungus harder to treat in crops.
Because it also infects many plants that are considered noxious weeds, the fungus has been proposed for use as a bioherbicide and an agent of biological pest control.
