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Updated: Sep 3, 2026

Using Ustilago maydis as a Trojan Horse for In Situ Delivery of Maize Proteins
Published on: February 8, 2019
Induction of Ustilago maydis Appressorium and Filamentation
Evan John1, Jung-En Kuan1, Armin Djamei2
1Department of Plant Pathology, Institute of Crop Science and Resource Conservation (INRES), University of Bonn, Nussallee, Bonn, Germany.
Abstract:
Ustilago maydis is a model smut-causing fungus infecting maize. Two compatible mating-type isolates of the fungus must form the infectious dikaryotic filaments that form infection. However, several laboratory techniques and strains have been developed that can induce this phenotype under controlled conditions, in order to study the pathogen outside the complexities of the host and microbiome. Three such methods are described here, which cover the use of charcoal-supplemented agar to induce filamentation, appressorium formation on hydrophic surfaces with 16-hydroxyhexadecanoic acid, as well as inducing b-dependent filamentation in liquid culture with engineered strains.
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Fungal Group Zygomycota
Fungal Phylum Ascomycota
Fungal Phylum Microsporidia
Formation of Intermediate Filaments

