The risk to Myrtaceae of Austropuccinia psidii, myrtle rust, in Mexico

Abstract

Austropuccinia psidii is a biotrophic rust fungus that affects species from the Myrtaceae family. In Mexico, Myrtaceae is widely distributed in temperate, tropical and semi-arid ecosystems, and includes 20 genera and 192 endemic and exotic species. Austropuccinia psidii has been present in Mexico for the last four decades; however, little is known about the distribution of this rust or the vulnerability of native and exotic Myrtaceae to infection. In this study, we used global occurrence records for the pandemic biotype of myrtle rust to model its current and future suitable habitat using a species distribution model, Maxent. We identified regions that are highly suitable for myrtle rust est..