To elucidate genetic mechanisms of the species-specific parasitism of Magnaporthe grisea, a Triticum isolate (pathogenic on wheat) was crossed with an Avena isolate (pathogenic on oat), and resulting F(1) progeny were subjected to segregation analyses on wheat cvs. Norin 4 and Chinese Spring. We found two fungal loci, Pwt3 and Pwt4, which are involved in the specific parasitism on wheat. Pwt3 operated on both cultivars while Pwt4 operated only on 'Norin 4'. Using the cultivar specificity of Pwt4, its corresponding resistance gene was successfully identified in 'Norin 4' and designated as Rmg1 (Rwt4). The presence of the corresponding resistance gene indicated that Pwt4 is an avirulence locus. Pwt3 was assumed to be an avirulence locus because of its temperature sensitivity. We suggest that gene-for-gene interactions underlie the species-specific parasitism of M. grisea.

An isolate of Magnaporthe grisea was collected from a blast lesion on oat in Brazil. Sequence analysis of the rDNA-ITS-2 region and DNA fingerprinting with repetitive elements revealed that the Avena isolate belongs to the "crop isolate group" and is similar to Triticum isolates. At high temperature (28°C), the Avena isolate caused severe disease symptoms on primary leaves of oat and wheat. When the temperature was decreased to 20°C, wheat leaves expressed resistance to the Avena isolate. Cytologically, this temperature-dependent resistance was associated with an increase in the incidences of papilla formation and a hypersensitive reaction. Pathogenicity tests with various plant species at 20°C revealed that the Avena isolate is exclusively parasitic on oat. To elucidate genetic mechanisms of this species-specific parasitism, the Avena isolate was crossed with a Triticum isolate and resulting F1 progenies were subjected to pathogenicity tests on oat seedlings. In the F1 population, avirulent and virulent cultures segregated in a 1:1 ratio, suggesting that the specific parasitism on oat is controlled by a single gene. This locus was designated as Pat1.Key words: Magnaporthe grisea, species-specific parasitism, oat, temperature sensitive.