Exserohilum turcicum
Exserohilum turcicum (Pass.) K.J. Leonard & Suggs, Mycologia 66(2): 291 (1974).
≡ Helminthosporium turcicum Pass., Boln Comiz. Agr. Parmense 10: 3 (1876)
Index Fungorum number: IF 314060; Facesoffungi number: FoF xxx, Fig. 1
Description: see Ariyawansa et al. (2015).a
Material examined: see Ariyawansa et al. (2015).
Fig. 1. Exserohilum turcicum (Ex herbarium: IMI 69726, holotype; re-illustrated from Ariyawansa et al. 2015). a. Herbarium material. b. Conidiophores and conidia on leaf surface of Zea mays. c. Conidiophores. d. Conidiophore and conidium. e. i Immature and mature conidia. Scale bars: b = 200 μm, c, d, h, i = 50 μm, e–g = 20 μm
Importance and role
Importance of genus to ecosystem
Species of Exserohilum are saprobic or pathogenic on host plant. As saprobes, they can help in nutrient recycling in the ecosystem. As pathogen, they may cause northern corn leaf blight (Turgay et al. 2020; Kutawa et al. 2017).
Industrial relevance and applications
No industrial use of Exserohilum have been reported.
Quarantine significance
No biocontrol agent from Exserohilum has been investigated. Exserohilum may have the potential to control some pathogen. Further studies are needed.
Biochemical importance of the genus, chemical diversity or applications
Exserohilum produces a peptide comprising three amino acids mainly glycine-serine-glutamine, which inhibit chlorophyll synthesis in corn leaves (Bashan et al. 1995). Exserohilum also produces Monocerin, a phytotoxin which inhibited seedling growth (Robeson and Strobel 2014).
Diversity of the genus
Even though, there is 38 Exserohilum epithet in Index fungorum, the real number of species is less as many have been synonymized and transferred to other genera such as Curvularia and Sporidesmiella. Exserohilum comprises 35 species with wide host range such as Arecaceae, Musaceae, Poaceae amongst others and geographical distribution such as Australia, Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Florida, India, Italy, Malaysia, Sudan, Thailand, Venezuela, Virginia amongst others. Exserohilum seems to be a diverse genus. Comprehensive studies are likely to result in numerous new species.
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