Question

What is correct for stages of Puccinia?

• A. Telia and aecia on wheat
• B. Telia and uredo stage on wheat
• C. Telia and aecia on barberry
• D. None of the above

Answer 1

The correct option is C Telia and aecia on barberry

The correct answer is option C. Puccinia is a genus of fungi. All species in this genus are obligate plant pathogens and are known as rusts. Also known as the stem, black, and cereal rust these are caused by the fungus Puccinia graminis and effects the cereal crops. Puccinia requires two hosts to complete its lifecycle. The stages of stem rust are showcased first by the presence of uredinia on the plant which occurs on the leaf sheaths, stems and leaves of the wheat plant. Towards the end of the growing season, telia are produced which attaches firmly to the plant tissue giving stem rust it's black rust'. Telia produces a teliospres which are black, thick-walled dikaryotic spores which undergo karyogamy to give rise to basidiospores that germinate to form haploid mycelium. However, since the basidiospores cannot infect the cereal host, it infects the alternative host - barberry. The basidiospores are usually carried to the alternative host by the wind. This mycellium after fertilization gives rise to dikaryotic mycelium which forms structures called aecia that produce dikaryotic spores called aeciospores.