Rusts |
Fungal group. Uredinales. Basidiomycetes. | |
| Distribution | Where Found | Mode of Dissemination |
| Ubiquitous; cosmopolitan. Approx. 14 families, 105 genera and 5,000 species. |
Grasses, flowers, trees and other living plant materials./span> | Rusts have both wet and dry spores. Wind disperses the urediospores, teliospores, basidiospores, and aeciospores. The basidiospores and aeciospores have an active spore release mechanism. |
| Allergen | Potential Opportunist or Pathogen | Potential Toxin Production |
| Type I allergies (hay fever, asthma). | No reports of human infection. | Not known. |
| Growth Indoors | Industrial Uses | Other Comments |
| Rusts do not grow indoors unless their host plants are present. They are parasitic plant pathogens and need a living host for growth. | Not known. | Rusts are members of the Basidiomycetes class. They have a complex life cycle, producing five different spore types in two different plant hosts. Spore types include: basidiospores, pycniospores, aeciospores, urediospores, and teliospores. |
| Characteristics: Growth/Culture | Notes on Spore Trap Recognition | Notes on Tape Lift Recognition |
| Rusts do not grow on ordinary laboratory media. They require a living host plant for growth. | Rust urediospores and teliospores are airborne; they are distinctive and readily identifiable on spore trap slides. | Urediospores and teliospores are distinctive and readily identifiable on tape lifts. They may be found in dust as part of the normal influx of outdoor microbial particles. |
| Definitions | References | Commentary | ||