VIEW ARTICLE

Physiology and Biochemistry

Endogenous Germination Inhibitors in Teliospores of the Wheat Bunt Fungi. Edward J. Trione, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Dept. of Botany and Plant Pathology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331; Phytopathology 67:1245-1249. Accepted for publication 28 March 1977. Copyright © 1977 The American Phytopathological Society, 3340 Pilot Knob Road, St. Paul, MN 55121. All rights reserved.. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-67-1245.

Teliospores of Tilletia spp. contain endogenous germination inhibitors. There was a decrease in percent germination as the spore population increased. Germination inhibitors were extracted from teliospores with warm methanol. The inhibitor complex from dwarf bunt teliospores was partially purified by adsorption chromatography on silicic acid. Six or more inhibitory substances were detected. After one of the inhibitors was purified and crystallized from cold hexane, it was found to have a melting point of 51 C and a maximum absorbance at 218 nm. The ED₅₀ of the purified inhibitor was 7 μg/ml. Tilletia teliospores contain about 2 to 4 mg trimethylamine/g spores, but this was not enough to account for the observed self inhibition.