Myriogenospora atramentosa produces partial to
complete sterility of host grasses. Geographical and host species distributions
were
assessed and updated. It is reported only from the New World and appears
to be limited to the highly evolved grass tribes
Andropogoneae and Paniceae. Included in these tribes are the previously
unreported host species Panicum scoparium, Paspalum
urvillei, Erianthus brevibarbis, E. contortus,
E. giganteus, and hybrids from crosses with Erianthus
spp. Additionally, M. atramentosa is
reported for the first time growing on Paspalum notatum (bahiagrass),
and Panicum hemitomon in South Carolina, U.S.A. Sequence data
(ITS regions 1 and 2 and 5·8S rDNA) from several isolates
indicated that there is a significant level of DNA sequence differentiation
between isolates of M. atramentosa, which suggests that there
are at least two distinct sequence groups, or cryptic species, within the
currently defined morphological species.