Lab 5 Journal Entry: Powdery Mildew

As part of our iNaturalist bioblitz on Tuesday, I came across an interesting species of fungi inhabiting a rotting tree in Mount Royal Park. Using recommendations from the iNaturalist app, I identified this particular species to be powdery mildew, which is also known as an order of fungus called Erysiphales. This is what it looked like:

According to Huckelhoven and Panstruga (2011), powdery mildew is a fungal disease contracted by plants. It only affects the epidermal layer of cells. This is an asexually-reproducing fungus, and it infects its host when its conidiospores land on the plant's surface. This particular fungus has been particularly devastating to wheat and barley species, which are staples in the agriculture industry. This means there is a lot of interest in the genes that make some barley and wheat species resistant to powdery mildew infection. Although this was a small fungus, it was a very interesting one!

Posted on October 7, 2021 03:06 AM by sophiacottrill