Host status of barley to Puccinia coronata from couch grass and P. striiformis from wheat and brome

The pathogenicity and identity was studied of a field sample (PcE) of crown rust fungus Puccinia coronata collected in Hungary on wild couch grass (Elymus repens) and of a field sample (Psb) of stripe rust (P. striiformis) collected in the Netherlands on California brome (Bromus carinatus). We focused on the analysis of the host susceptibility of cultivated barley (Hordeum vulgare) to both pathogen samples, in direct comparison with an isolate of P. striiformis f.sp. tritici (Pst) and P. striiformis f.sp. hordei (Psh). At the seedling stage 83 % of the barley accessions were susceptible to PcE. At the adult plant stage, cultivated barley was predominantly resistant to this crown rust sample. Morphology, pathogenicity on Hordeum and Bromus and ITS DNA sequence analysis determined that PcE represents a European specimen of P. coronata f.sp. hordei. Sample Psb was pathogenic on 47 % of the cultivated barley at the seedling stage. This is intermediate between the isolates Psh (90 %) and Pst (10 %). Psb and Psh were pathogenic to grasses representing several genera. The host range of the Pst isolate was more narrow. We conclude that Psb is unlikely to represent a genotype of Psh that happened to have colonized B. carinatus, and is likely a distinct form of P. striiformis.