The fungus Ustilago maydis, from the aztec cuisine to the research laboratory Authors José Ruiz-Herrera Departamento de Ingeniería Genética, Unidad de Biotecnología e Ingeniería Genética de Plantas, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (CINVESTAV), Irapuato, México Alfredo D. Martínez-Espinoza Departamento de Ingeniería Genética, Unidad de Biotecnología e Ingeniería Genética de Plantas, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (CINVESTAV), Irapuato, México Keywords: Ustilago maydis, corn smut, dimorphism, polyamines, DNA methylation, mating type Abstract Ustilago maydis is a plant pathogen fungus responsible for corn smut. It has a complex life cycle. In its saprophitic stage, it grows as haploid yeast cells, while in the invasive stage it grows as a mycelium formed by diploid cells. Thus, a correlation exists between genetic ploidy, pathogenicity and morphogenesis. Dimorphism can be modulated in vitro by changing environmental parameters such as pH. Studies with auxotrophic mutants have shown that polyamines play a central role in regulating dimorphism. Molecular biology approaches are being employed for the analysis of fundamental aspects of the biology of this fungus, such as mating type regulation, dimorphism or cell wall biogenesis. Downloads PDF Published 2010-03-18 Issue Vol. 1 No. 1 (1998) Section Research Articles License Submission of a manuscript to International Microbiology implies: that the work described has not been published before, including publication in the World Wide Web (except in the form of an Abstract or as part of a published lecture, review, or thesis); that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere; that all the coauthors have agreed to its publication. The corresponding author signs for and accepts responsability for releasing this material and will act on behalf of any and all coauthors regarding the editorial review and publication process.If an article is accepted for publication in International Microbiology, the authors (or other copyright holder) must transfer to the journal the right–not exclusive–to reproduce and distribute the article including reprints, translations, photographic reproductions, microform, electronic form (offline, online) or any other reproductions of similar nature. Nevertheless, all article in International Microbiology will be available on the Internet to any reader at no cost. The journal allows users to freely download, copy, print, distribute, search, and link to the full text of any article, provided the authorship and source of the published article is cited. The copyright owner's consent does not include copying for new works, or resale. In these cases, the specific written permission of International Microbiology must first be obtained.Authors are requested to create a link to the published article on the journal's website. The link must be accompanied by the following text: "The original publication is available on LINK at <http://www.im.microbios.org>. Please use the appropiate URL for the article in LINK. Articles disseminated via LINK are indexed, abstracted, and referenced by many abstracting and information services, bibliographic networks, subscription agencies, library networks, and consortia.
