Difference Between Uredospore and Teliospore

The key difference between uredospore and teliospore is the thickness of the cell wall of each spore. Uredospores have thin spore cell walls while teliospores have thick spore cell walls.

Spores are reproductive structures of fungi. They undergo meiosis during cell propagation. Leaf rust and leaf smut are two plant diseases where uredospores and teliospores play a major role in the spread of the disease.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Uredospore 
3. What is Teliospore
4. Similarities Between Uredospore and Teliospore
5. Side by Side Comparison – Uredospore vs Teliospore in Tabular Form
6. Summary

What is Uredospore?

Uredospore, also called urediniospores, is a type of a fungal spore produced by fungi that belong to Uredinomycetes. They are thin-walled spores and mostly seen in leaves.  The rust fungi produce uredospores inside the uredinium or uredosorus, generally found on the underside of the leaf. Uredospores come out, placing pressure on the leaf epidermis and rupturing it.

Figure 01: Uredospores

Uredospore is a dikaryotic structure having n+n state. Hence, it consists of two genetically distinct nuclei. They have a stalk. Moreover, they are unicellular structures with an oval shape. They appear in pale brown or rusty red in colour.

What is Teliospore?

Teliospores, also called Teleutospores, are fungal spores, which are thick-walled. They are found during smut and rusts of leaves. Uredinomycetes and Ustilaginales fungi cause rust and smut in plants, respectively. The teliospore production takes place inside the telium or teliosorus. The teliospore is stalked and spindle-shaped. Moreover, it contains two or more cells that are dikaryotic.

Figure 02: Teliospores

When the teliospore germinates, its nuclei undergo karyogamy, and they divide by meiosis to produce a four celled basidium with basidiospores. These basidiospores are haploid in nature. They are dark brown in colour in contrast to uredospores.

What are the Similarities Between Uredospore and Teliospore?

• Uredospore and teliospore are two types of fungal spores.
• They contain two nuclei within a single cell.
• Both are seen in leaf rusts.
• They have a single cell wall.
• Binucleate hypha produces these spores.
• Both undergo meiosis during the life cycle.

What is the Difference Between Uredospore and Teliospore?

Uredopsores and teliospores are fungal spores that spread fungal diseases on plants. However, the key difference between uredospore and teliospore is the spore cell wall. Uredospores have thin walls, whereas teliospores have thick walls. Further, the formation of uredospores takes place from the uredium while teliospores produce from telium. So, this is also a difference between uredospore and teliospore. Furthermore, the colour of the two spores also differs. Uredospores are rusty red in colour while teliospores are brown in colour.

The below infographic presents more information regarding the difference between Uredospore and Teliospore.

Summary – Uredospore vs Teliospore

The key difference between uredospore and teliospore is mainly the texture of the spore cell wall. Uredospores have a thin cell wall while teliospores have a thick cell wall. Also, the structures that produce each spore differ; while the uredium produces uredospores, the telium produces teliospores. Furthermore, the colour of the two spore types also differs. In summary, it is important to study the structure and the function of each spore type to understand the disease mechanism.

Reference:

1. Kochunni, Deena T, and JazirHaneef. “Difference between Rusts and Smuts.” MajorDifferences, Available here.
2. “PucciniaGraminis: Introduction, Vegetative Body and Life History.” Biology Discussion, 24 Aug. 2016, Available here.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Phragmidium violaceum uredospores” By Lukas (CC BY-SA 2.0) via Flickr
2. “Two-celled teliospore of Gymnosporangium globosum” By Bbalogh at English Wikipedia – Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons by Jacopo Werther (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia

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