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Updated: Sep 22, 2025

Microscopy of Fission Yeast Sexual Lifecycle
Published on: March 9, 2016
Sexual reproduction is the null hypothesis for life cycles of rust fungi
Alistair R McTaggart1, Timothy Y James2, Alexander Idnurm3
1Centre for Horticultural Science, Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation, The University of Queensland, Ecosciences Precinct, Dutton Park, Queensland, Australia.
Abstract:
Sexual reproduction, mutation, and reassortment of nuclei increase genotypic diversity in rust fungi. Sexual reproduction is inherent to rust fungi, coupled with their coevolved plant hosts in native pathosystems. Rust fungi are hypothesised to exchange nuclei by somatic hybridisation with an outcome of increased genotypic diversity, independent of sexual reproduction. We provide criteria to demonstrate whether somatic exchange has occurred, including knowledge of parental haplotypes and rejection of fertilisation in normal rust life cycles.
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