Pyricularia Sacc., Mycelia 2(no. 6): 20 (1880)

MycoBank number: MB 9670; Index Fungorum number: IF 9670; Facesoffungi number: FoF 01802; 44 morphological species(Species Fungorum 2020), 18 species with sequence data.

Type speciesPyricularia grisea Sacc.

Notes – The name Pyricularia refers to the pyriform shape of the conidia, which is a specific character of this genus (Bussaban et al. 2005). Pyricularia species can infect various monocotyledons including Cenchrus, Echinochloa, Lolium, Oryza, Pennisetum or Zingiber. Pyricularia oryzae is the cause of rice blast disease, one of the most important diseases of rice. Klaubauf et al. (2014) synonymised Magnaporthe grisea under Pyricularia grisea, by clarifying the taxonomic relationships among species that are magnaporthe- or pyricularia-like using molecular phylogeny (LSU, ITS, rpb1, act and calM).

Figure 218 Pyricularia oryzae (a-d, g-h), Pyricularia grisea (e, f). a-d Perithecia, asci and ascospores (redrawn from Yaegashi & Udagawa 1978). e, f Conidiophores and conidia (redrawn from Klaubauf et al. 2014). g Pyriform conidia (redrawn from Zhang et al. 2014). h Microconidia produced from phialides (redrawn from Zhang et al. 2014). Scale bars: a, d = 200 µm, b, c = 20 µm, e, f = 10 µm, g, h = 5 µm.

Species

  • Pyricularia grisea