Claviceps purpurea: Difference between revisions
(Created page with "{{Uncurated}} ==Classification== Fungi; Ascomycota; Sordariomycetes; Hypocreales; Ckavucuoutaceae [Others may be used. Use [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/ NCBI] link...") |
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==Classification== | ==Classification== | ||
Fungi; Ascomycota; Sordariomycetes; Hypocreales; | Fungi; Ascomycota; Sordariomycetes; Hypocreales; Clavicipitaceae [Others may be used. Use [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/ NCBI] link to find] | ||
===Species=== | ===Species=== | ||
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''''''Claviceps purpurea'''' | ''''''Claviceps purpurea'''' | ||
'' | '' | ||
Common Name: ''rye ergot fungus'' | |||
Anamorph: ''Sphacelia segetum'''' | Anamorph: ''Sphacelia segetum'''' | ||
==Description and Significance== | ==Description and Significance== | ||
The fungus ''Claviceps purpurea'' is responsible for causing the fungal disease ergot of rye. Of the approximate 40 species of ''Claviceps'' described, ''C. purpurea'' is of the most importance due to its potential economic loss in rye crops and its significant toxicity to both humans and animals | The fungus ''Claviceps purpurea'' is responsible for causing the fungal disease ergot of rye. Of the approximate 40 species of ''Claviceps'' described, ''C. purpurea'' is of the most importance due to its potential for economic loss in rye crops and its significant toxicity to both humans and animals (Schumann and Uppala 2017). The purplish-black sclerotium contain alkaloids that cause poisoning called ergotism when consumed. It is hypothesized that ergotism caused "bewitchment" or strange behavior including hallucinations, vomiting, psychosis, and delirium, which were reported in the Salem Witch Trials (Matossian 1982). | ||
==Life Cycle, Cell Structure, Metabolism== | ==Life Cycle, Cell Structure, Metabolism== | ||
''C. purpurea'' is unique in that it only infects ovaries in typically young, unfertilized plants (Schumann and Uppala 2017). Ascospores are dispersed by wind and land on plant stigma alongside pollen grains. These spores infect the ovary where hyphae begin to develop. Following hyphal development, conidia are formed and dispersed with the help of insects who are attracted to a sticky substance created by a combination of fungal conidia and sap from the host plant called honeydew. The infected plant ovary is then replaced by sclerotia, or ergot, which consists of hardened mycelia used for protection, dormancy, and survival . When the crop is harvested, the sclerotia is harvested along with the grain, leading to contamination. Contamination comes from alkaloids present in the sclerotia, which are categorized into three groups: clavines, ergopeptines, and amides of lysergic acid, the latter being a derivative used to produce LSD (Money 2016). | |||
''C. purpurea'' is unique in that it only infects ovaries in typically young, unfertilized plants. Ascospores are dispersed by wind and land on plant stigma alongside pollen grains. These spores infect the ovary where hyphae begin to develop. Following hyphal development, conidia are formed and dispersed with the help of insects who are attracted to a sticky substance created by a combination of fungal conidia and sap from the host plant called honeydew. The infected plant ovary is then replaced by sclerotia, or ergot, which consists of hardened mycelia used for protection, dormancy, and survival . When the crop is harvested, the sclerotia | |||
==Genome Structure== | ==Genome Structure== | ||
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Habitat; symbiosis; environmental or industrial relevance; contributions to environment.<br> | Habitat; symbiosis; environmental or industrial relevance; contributions to environment.<br> | ||
If relevant, how does this organism cause disease? Human, animal, plant hosts? Virulence factors, as well as host symptoms.<br><br> | If relevant, how does this organism cause disease? Human, animal, plant hosts? Virulence factors, as well as host symptoms.<br><br> | ||
''C. purpurea'' has been known to infect over 400 grass and cereal species and can found in temperate regions around the world (Miedaner and Geiger 2015). Though the loss of crops due to ergot is typically low, only 5-10%, the health effects that consumption can have on humans can be severe. In historical accounts, ergotism, which is the disease caused by consumption of contaminated plants, caused hallucinations, fever, convulsions, loss of fertility, miscarriage, and loss of limbs in humans. Due to modern management strategies, the risk of exposure to ergotism today is low in comparison to historical times (Schumann and Uppala 2017). Today, compounds isolated from ''Claviceps''have been used to create medicines to treat migraine headaches, heavy menstrual bleeding, bleeding after child-birth, and neurological and cardiovascular disorders. | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||
Revision as of 22:41, 5 December 2018
Classification
Fungi; Ascomycota; Sordariomycetes; Hypocreales; Clavicipitaceae [Others may be used. Use NCBI link to find]
Species
|
NCBI: [1] |
'Claviceps purpurea' Common Name: rye ergot fungus Anamorph: Sphacelia segetum''
Description and Significance
The fungus Claviceps purpurea is responsible for causing the fungal disease ergot of rye. Of the approximate 40 species of Claviceps described, C. purpurea is of the most importance due to its potential for economic loss in rye crops and its significant toxicity to both humans and animals (Schumann and Uppala 2017). The purplish-black sclerotium contain alkaloids that cause poisoning called ergotism when consumed. It is hypothesized that ergotism caused "bewitchment" or strange behavior including hallucinations, vomiting, psychosis, and delirium, which were reported in the Salem Witch Trials (Matossian 1982).
Life Cycle, Cell Structure, Metabolism
C. purpurea is unique in that it only infects ovaries in typically young, unfertilized plants (Schumann and Uppala 2017). Ascospores are dispersed by wind and land on plant stigma alongside pollen grains. These spores infect the ovary where hyphae begin to develop. Following hyphal development, conidia are formed and dispersed with the help of insects who are attracted to a sticky substance created by a combination of fungal conidia and sap from the host plant called honeydew. The infected plant ovary is then replaced by sclerotia, or ergot, which consists of hardened mycelia used for protection, dormancy, and survival . When the crop is harvested, the sclerotia is harvested along with the grain, leading to contamination. Contamination comes from alkaloids present in the sclerotia, which are categorized into three groups: clavines, ergopeptines, and amides of lysergic acid, the latter being a derivative used to produce LSD (Money 2016).
Genome Structure
Describe the size and content of the genome. How many chromosomes? Other interesting features? What is known about its sequence?
Ecology and Pathogenesis
Habitat; symbiosis; environmental or industrial relevance; contributions to environment.
If relevant, how does this organism cause disease? Human, animal, plant hosts? Virulence factors, as well as host symptoms.
C. purpurea has been known to infect over 400 grass and cereal species and can found in temperate regions around the world (Miedaner and Geiger 2015). Though the loss of crops due to ergot is typically low, only 5-10%, the health effects that consumption can have on humans can be severe. In historical accounts, ergotism, which is the disease caused by consumption of contaminated plants, caused hallucinations, fever, convulsions, loss of fertility, miscarriage, and loss of limbs in humans. Due to modern management strategies, the risk of exposure to ergotism today is low in comparison to historical times (Schumann and Uppala 2017). Today, compounds isolated from Clavicepshave been used to create medicines to treat migraine headaches, heavy menstrual bleeding, bleeding after child-birth, and neurological and cardiovascular disorders.
References
Author
Page authored by Gayle J. Nance, student of Dr. Marc Orbach, University of Arizona .
