Fungi associated with foliar diseases of wild and cultivated rice (Oryza spp.) in northern Queensland

During surveys of wild and cultivated rice in northern Queensland in 2014 and 2015, 92 fungal isolates were obtained from plants that were afflicted by foliar diseases, including the rice blast pathogen, Pyricularia oryzae, and the brown spot pathogen, Bipolaris oryzae. Seven species of Curvularia were found, viz. Curvularia aeria, C. alcornii, C. asianensis, C. clavata, C. lunata, C. muehlenbeckiae and an undescribed species. To remove uncertainty about the identity of the host plants from which the fungi were isolated, a DNA barcoding strategy was developed using regions of the chloroplast genome. Pathogenicity tests using wild rice isolates of P. oryzae indicated that many local rice varieties are susceptible to infection.