''Uromycladium tepperianum'' is a

rust fungus Rusts are plant diseases caused by pathogenic fungi of the order Pucciniales (previously known as Uredinales). An estimated 168 rust genera and approximately 7,000 species, more than half of which belong to the genus ''Puccinia'', are currently a ...

that infects over 100 species of ''

Acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus na ...

'' and related genera including ''

Paraserianthes ''Paraserianthes'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It belongs to the mimosoid clade of the subfamily Caesalpinioideae. Taxonomy ''Paraserianthes'' includes only one species: * ''Paraserianthes lophantha'' (Willd.) I.C.Nie ...

'' in Australia, south-east Asia, the south Pacific and New Zealand.Morris, M.J. (1987). Biology of the ''Acacia'' gall rust, ''Uromycladium tepperianum''. Plant Pathol. 36: 100–106.Shivas, R.G. (1989). Fungal and bacterial diseases of plants in Western Australia. Jour. Royal Soc. West. Aust. 72:1–62.Walker, J. (1983). Pacific mycogeography: deficiencies and irregularities in the distribution of plant parasitic fungi. Aust. Jour. Bot. Suppl. Ser. 10: 89–136.McKenzie, E.H.C. (1998). Rust fungi of New Zealand – an introduction and list of recorded species. N.Z. Jour. Bot. 36: 233–271. The acacia gall rust fungus species ''Uromycladium tepperianum'' has been introduced to South Africa as a

biological control Biological control or biocontrol is a method of controlling pests, such as insects, mites, weeds, and plant diseases, using other organisms. It relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or other natural mechanisms, but typically also invo ...

on the invasive Australian shrub ''

Acacia saligna ''Acacia saligna'', commonly known by various names including coojong, golden wreath wattle, orange wattle, blue-leafed wattle, Western Australian golden wattle, and, in Africa, Port Jackson willow, is a small tree in the family (biology), fami ...

''. ''Uromycladium tepperianum'' is differentiated from other species of '' Uromycladium'' by the presence of three one-celled fertile

teliospore Teliospore (sometimes called teleutospore) is the thick-walled resting spore of some fungi ( rusts and smuts), from which the basidium arises. Development They develop in '' telia'' (sing. ''telium'' or ''teliosorus''). The telial host is the p ...

s on the pedicel.McAlpine, D. (1905). A new genus of Uredineae – ''Uromycladium''. Ann. Mycol. 3: 303–322.Doungsa-ard, C., McTaggart, A.R., Geering, A.D.W., Dalisay, T.U., Ray, J. Shivas, R.G. 2015. ''Uromycladium falcatarium'' sp. nov., the cause of gall rust on ''Paraserianthes falcataria'' in south-east Asia. Australasian Plant Pathol. 44: 25–30. DOI 10.1007/s13313-014-0301-z

Distribution

The fungus is present in Australia, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Timor Leste, and New Zealand. It was introduced deliberately to South Africa for biological control.

Ecology

The galls of ''Uromycladium tepperianum'' have been reported to be used by moths in the families

Gracillariidae Gracillariidae is an important family of insects in the order Lepidoptera and the principal family of leaf miners that includes several economic, horticultural or recently invasive pest species such as the horse-chestnut leaf miner, ''Cameraria ...

Tortricidae The Tortricidae are a family of moths, commonly known as tortrix moths or leafroller moths, in the order Lepidoptera. This large family has over 11,000 species described, and is the sole member of the superfamily Tortricoidea, although the genu ...

Tineidae Tineidae is a family of moths in the order Lepidoptera described by Pierre André Latreille in 1810. Collectively, they are known as fungus moths or tineid moths. The family contains considerably more than 3,000 species in more than 300 genera. ...

Pyralidae The Pyralidae, commonly called pyralid moths, snout moths or grass moths, are a family of Lepidoptera in the ditrysian superfamily Pyraloidea. In many (particularly older) classifications, the grass moths (Crambidae) are included in the Pyrali ...

, and Stathmopodidae as food sources and

domatium A domatium (plural: domatia, from the Latin "domus", meaning home) is a tiny chamber that houses arthropods, produced by a plant. Ideally domatia differ from galls in that they are produced by the plant rather than being induced by their inhabi ...

for their larvae in Australia.New, T. R. 1982. Lepidoptera from ''Uromycladium'' galls on ''Acacia''. Australian Journal of Zoology 30(2): 357–364. Specifically in the family

the species ''

Polysoma eumetalla ''Polysoma eumetalla'' is a moth of the family Gracillariidae. It is known from the Australian states of Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria and from New Zealand. The wingspan is about 10 mm. Adults have a met ...

'' and ''

Conopomorpha heliopla ''Conopomorpha heliopla'' is a moth of the family Gracillariidae. It is known from the Australian states of Tasmania, Queensland and Western Australia. The larvae feed on ''Acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a l ...

'' are found feeding on the surface of various species of acacia rust galls. ''

Erechthias mystacinella ''Erechthias mystacinella'', the curve-winged apple moth, is a moth of the family Tineidae. It is found in the Australian Capital Territory, Tasmania and Victoria. Description The wingspan is about 14 mm. The larvae have been found feedi ...

'' and ''

Opogona comptella ''Opogona comptella'' is a moth of the family Tineidae. It is found from southern Queensland to Tasmania as well as in New Zealand. The wingspan is about 15 mm. The larvae feed on the bark of '' Salix vitellina'' and the galls of ''Acacia ...

'' moth larvae from the family

have been reported to live and feed on the inside of ''U. tepperianum'' galls.

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q10711042 Fungi described in 1889 Fungi of Australia Fungi of Asia Fungi of Africa Fungi of New Zealand Pucciniales Taxa named by Pier Andrea Saccardo