| Leptosphaeria maculans | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Dothideomycetes |
| Order: | Pleosporales |
| Family: | Leptosphaeriaceae |
| Genus: | Leptosphaeria |
| Species: | L. maculans |
| Binomial name | |
| Leptosphaeria maculans (Sowerby) P.Karst. (1863) |
|
| Synonyms[1] | |
|
Phyllosticta brassicae |
|
Leptosphaeria maculans (anamorph Phoma lingam) is a fungal pathogen that is the causal agent of blackleg disease on Brassica crops. The major yield loss is due to stem canker.
L. maculans metabolizes brassinin, an important phytoalexin produced by Brassica species, into indole-3-carboxaldehyde and indole-3-carboxylic acid. Virulent isolates proceed through the (3-indolylmethyl)dithiocarbamate S-oxide intermediate,[2] while avirulent isolates first convert brassinin to N-acetyl-3-indolylmethylamine and 3-indolylmethylamine.[3]
As a bioengineering innovation, recently it was shown that a light-driven protein from L. maculans could be used to mediate, alongside earlier reagents, multi-color silencing of neurons in the mammalian nervous system.[4]