Cochliobolus sativus

Cochliobolus sativus
Symptoms on a wheat leaf
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Ascomycota
Class:	Dothideomycetes
Order:	Pleosporales
Family:	Pleosporaceae
Genus:	Cochliobolus
Species:	C. sativus
Binomial name
Cochliobolus sativus (S. Ito & Kurib.) Drechsler ex Dastur (1942)
Synonyms
Bipolaris californica (Mackie & G.E. Paxton) Gornostaĭ (1978) Bipolaris sorokiniana (Sacc.) Shoemaker (1959) Drechslera sorokiniana (Sacc.) Subram. & B.L. Jain (1966) Helminthosporium acrothecioides Lindf. (1918) Helminthosporium californicum Mackie & G.E. Paxton (1923) Helminthosporium sativum Pammel, C.M. King & Bakke (1910) Helminthosporium sorokinianum Sacc. (1890) Ophiobolus sativus S. Ito & Kurib. (1929)

The fungus Cochliobolus sativus is the teleomorph (sexual stage) of Bipolaris sorokiniana (anamorph) which is the causal agent of a wide variety of cereal diseases. The pathogen can infect and cause disease on roots (where it is known as common root rot), leaf and stem, and head tissue. C. sativus is extremely rare in nature and thus it is the asexual or anamorphic stage which causes infections. The two most common diseases caused by B. sorokiniana are spot blotch and common root rot, mainly on wheat and barley crops.