Collection of smut fungi from northern Western Australia

More than 50 specimens of smut fungi were collected during a field trip to the Mitchell Plateau, Western Australia. These specimens will be incorporated into a phylogenetic study using morphological and molecular methods. Three taxa of smut fungi new to science were identified amongst the collection and these will be described in separate publications.

A 10 day fungal survey of the Mitchell Plateau and Kimberley region in northern Western Australia discovered a rich diversity of smut fungi and allowed many fresh specimens to be collected for DNA extraction and morphological analysis. The survey yielded 60 collections of diseased plant material, including 32 different smut taxa in ten genera. Several collections of rusts (Basidiomycota, Pucciniales), downy mildews (Oomycota, Sclerosporales) and ergots (Ascomycota, Hypocreales) were also made and lodged in the Queensland Primary Industries and Fisheries, Plant Pathology Herbarium (BRIP). DNA will be extracted from this material and stored in the Biosecurity Bank. 

The smut specimens will be amplified at over five molecular loci from different regions of protein coding, mitochondrial and ribosomal DNA. This data will be combined with morphological data for an intensive phylogenetic analysis, attempting to resolve the taxonomy of the Ustilago/Sporisorium/Macalpinomyces complex of smut fungi, which includes several important plant pathogens such as Sugarcane smut (Ustilago scitaminea) and loose smut of Sorghum (Sporisorium cruentum). Molecular data will be used to help resolve the complicated taxonomy of these fungi as well as to design molecular probes for applications in diagnostic nanotechnology.

The collecting trip has substantially increased knowledge about the distribution of smut fungi in Australia, including the discovery of new endemic taxa. Understanding the biodiversity of all organisms in Australia is extremely important for quarantine and conservation.