Taxonomic identity of two rust fungi, Uromyces durus and Puccinia allii, parasitizing Allium spp.

Abstract Uromyces durus was originally described as a pathogen of rust disease on Allium macrostemon collected in Kochi Prefecture, Japan in 1905. This fugus is similar to Puccinia alliiin host range and morphology, although it has been reported that the ratios of 1-celled and 2- celled teliospores differ from each other. In addition, molecular phylogenetic analyses suggested that they are closely related. We collected specimens from both species in Japan and conducted morphological examinations and phylogenetic analyses. The results showed that the two species were taxonomically identical. Therefore, U. durus was treated as a synonym of P. allii.