Germination of Teliospores of Karnal, Dwarf, and Common Bunt Fungi After Ingestion by Animals. J. L. Smilanick, USDA-ARS Crops Research Laboratory, Utah State University, Logan 84322. M. Dupler, B. J. Goates, and J. A. Hoffmann, USDA-ARS Crops Research Laboratory, Utah State University, Logan 84322, and D. Clark and D. Dobson, Animal, Dairy, and Veterinary Sciences Department, Utah State University, Logan 84322. Plant Dis. 70:242-244. Accepted for publication 30 August 1985. This article is in the public domain and not copyrightable. It may be freely reprinted with customary crediting of the source. The American Phytopathological Society, 1986. DOI: 10.1094/PD-70-242.

Teliospores of Tilletia indica, T. controversa, and T. caries were fed to leghorn chickens or grasshoppers (Melanoplus sanguinipes) or placed in the rumen of a rumen-fistulated Holstein cow. Viable teliospores were present in all feces collected. After ingestion by grasshoppers, germination of T. indica, T. controversa, and T. caries teliospores was reduced slightly (70.0, 88.5, and 89.2% of controls, respectively). Only T. indica teliospore germination was reduced significantly. Ingestion by leghorn chickens or passage through the intestinal tract of a Holstein cow significantly reduced teliospore germination of these fungi but did not prevent it. Quarantines established to prevent the movement of these pathogens should consider feces-derived products as potential sources of introduction.