XVI International Botanical Congess

The fungal disease Microbotryum violaceum causes anther smut in Silene latifolia and other Caryophyllaceae. Microsatellite variation patterns reveal that fungal strains from different host plant species are strongly differentiated, sharing almost no alleles. Collections from sites with several infected host plant species also showed differentiation by host species but not geographic proximity, suggesting barriers to gene flow among fungal strains in potential contact. Here we compare the phylogenies of hosts and parasites, based on non-coding chloroplast and nuclear ITS sequences for hosts, and on ITS sequences for parasites. We discuss the results considering host-parasite coevolution, host-shifts in parasite-speciation, and whether parasite phylogenies reflect adaptations to host life-history traits such as life span, growth habit, or pollination syndrome.