What type of fungus is Alternaria?
Alternaria is a genus of Deuteromycetes fungi. Alternaria species are known as major plant pathogens. They are also common allergens in humans, growing indoors and causing hay fever or hypersensitivity reactions that sometimes lead to asthma.
What is Alternaria infection?
Alternaria is an ubiquitous fungus that is considered to be a nonpathogenic contaminant of the clinical specimen unless isolated by repeated culture and correlated with clinical findings. However, it is a rare cause of human infection, especially in immunocompromised patients but even more rarely in healthy hosts [1].
Is Alternaria a Septate?
Microscopic Features. Alternaria spp. have septate, brown hyphae. Conidiophores are also septate and brown in color, occasionally producing a zigzag appearance.
What is the perfect stage of Alternaria?
Alternarias have no sexual or perfect stage. They multiply asexually by the method of sporulation. The characteristic asexual spores which are produced exogenously are the conidia (Fig. 16.9).
How is Alternaria treated?
Treatment for Alternaria requires fungicide to be sprayed directly on infected plants, as well as improvements in sanitation and crop rotation to prevent future outbreaks. Organic gardeners are limited to sprays of captan or copper fungicides, making control much more challenging.
Which pesticide is best for Alternaria?
The strobilurin fungicides are the most effective at controlling Alternaria blotch.
Does Alternaria have Septate hyphae?
Species of Alternaria occur worldwide on many foods and plant materials. They have septate hyphae and appear to be dark, gray-green in color, and almost black on the reverse side of colonies growing on agar.
What is the classification of Alternaria?
Dothideomycetes
Alternaria/Class
What kind of asexual spores are seen in Alternaria?
Reproduction in Alternaria: The characteristic asexual spores which are produced exogenously are the conidia (Fig. 16.9). The conidia are produced at the tips of ordinary hyphae which are comparatively short and dark coloured. Special hyphae termed conidiophores are not recognisable.
How do Alternaria reproduce?
Alternaria reproduces only by conidia which are produced at the tips of conidiophores. The endophytic mycelium grows out as erect and aerial hyphae through the stomata or ruptured epidermis of the infected host tissue. Sometimes branching of the conidial chain is also observed.