New Phytopathology Findings from U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Discussed (Exaggerated Plurivory of macrophomina Phaseolina: Accounting for the Large Host Range Claim and the Shifting of...).

A recent study conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) challenges the commonly held belief that the plant pathogenic fungus Macrophomina phaseolina has a broad host range of over 500 species. The researchers conducted a literature meta-analysis of 894 publications on M. phaseolina and found that the early claims of its broad host range were not supported by experimental evidence. They only found primary experimental evidence for M. phaseolina's pathogenicity on 97 hosts. The study suggests that the exaggerated claims about the fungus's host range have obscured an accurate understanding of its biology. [Extracted from the article]