| Diaporthe toxica | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Phylum: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Sordariomycetes |
| Subclass: | Sordariomycetidae |
| Order: | Diaporthales |
| Family: | Diaporthaceae |
| Genus: | Diaporthe |
| Species: | D. toxica |
| Binomial name | |
| Diaporthe toxica P.M. Williamson, Highet, W. Gams & Sivasith., in Williamson, Highet, Gams, Sivasithamparam & Cowling, Mycol. Res. 98(12): 1367 (1994) |
|
Diaporthe toxica (Williamson) is a plant endophyte and occasionally a plant pathogen [1]. D. toxica produces secondary metabolites that result in toxicoses of animals such as lupinosis of sheep. Mycotoxic lupinosis is a disease caused by lupin material that is infected with the fungus [2]. The fungus produces mycotoxins called phomopsins, which cause liver damage. Lupinosis has been incorrectly attributed to Diaporthe woodii but has now been shown to be a mycotoxicosis caused by the recently discovered teleomorphic fungus Diaporthe toxica [3]. The discovery and naming of this new fungus concludes over a century of investigation into the cause of lupinosis since the first outbreak in Germany in 1872.