''Uncinula'' is a genus of fungi. Its species are

plant pathogens Plant pathology (also phytopathology) is the scientific study of diseases in plants caused by pathogens (infectious organisms) and environmental conditions (physiological factors). Organisms that cause infectious disease include fungi, oomyc ...

that cause

powdery mildew Powdery mildew is a fungal disease that affects a wide range of plants. Powdery mildew diseases are caused by many different species of ascomycete fungi in the order Erysiphales. Powdery mildew is one of the easier plant diseases to identify, as ...

diseases on various plant hosts. The genus is characterized by its dark chasmothecia which bear filamentous, hyaline appendages with hooked tips. Over one hundred species have been described from mostly dicotyledenous hosts. Braun and Takamatsu (2000) suggested that ''Uncinula'' should be considered a later synonym of ''

Erysiphe ''Erysiphe'' is a genus of fungi in the family Erysiphaceae. Many of the species in this genus are plant pathogens which cause powdery mildew. Species This genus includes, but is not limited to the following species: * ''Erysiphe alphitoides'' * ...

''; not all subsequent researchers have accepted their conclusions. One notorious species, ''

Uncinula necator ''Uncinula necator'' (syn. ''Erysiphe necator'') is a fungus that causes powdery mildew of grape. It is a common pathogen of Vitis species, including the wine grape, ''Vitis vinifera''. The fungus is believed to have originated in North America ...

'' (syn. ''Erysiphe necator''), attacks various species of grapes (

Vitis ''Vitis'' (grapevine) is a genus of 79 accepted species of vining plants in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The genus is made up of species predominantly from the Northern Hemisphere. It is economically important as the source of grapes, b ...

spp.) and can cause yield losses in European

wine grapes This list of grape varieties includes cultivated grapes, whether used for wine, or eating as a table grape, fresh or dried (raisin, currant, sultana). For a complete list of all grape species including those unimportant to agriculture, see Viti ...

. Other ''Uncinula'' species attack a wide variety of

dicotyledon The dicotyledons, also known as dicots (or, more rarely, dicotyls), are one of the two groups into which all the flowering plants (angiosperms) were formerly divided. The name refers to one of the typical characteristics of the group: namely, t ...

ous plants.

References

* Braun U, Takamatsu S. 2000. Phylogeny of ''Erysiphe'', ''Microsphaera'', ''Uncinula'' (Erysipheae) and ''Cystotheca'', ''Podosphaera'', ''Sphaerotheca'' (Cystotheceae) inferred from rDNA ITS sequences: Some taxonomic consequences. Schlechtendalia 4: 1-33.

External links

Index Fungorum

USDA ARS Fungal Database
Erysiphales Fungal plant pathogens and diseases Taxa named by Joseph-Henri Léveillé {{Leotiomycetes-stub