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Meiotic Products from Natural Infections of Ustilago maydis. P. R. Day, Head Department of Genetics, The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, Box 1106, New Haven 06504; S. L. Anagnostakis, Research Assistant, Department of Genetics, The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, Box 1106, New Haven 06504. Phytopathology 61:1020-1021. Accepted for publication 25 March 1971. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-61-1020.

Most teliospores of Ustilago maydis from natural smut galls on field corn germinate and form whole tetrad colonies showing a mosaic pattern. This pattern results from the interaction of compatible meiotic products. Colonies in which only one or two incompatible products survive are yeastlike. At least three products were found in 87.2 and 95.6% of the colonies from two samples. Colonies made up of unreduced diploid cells are easily scored, as they are not mosaic but rather, yeastlike or entirely mycelial. One class of diploids probably arose by mitotic recombination prior to teliospore formation.