noun
- Plural of autecism; the occurrence of all stages of a parasitic fungus (especially rust) on a single host plant.
Usage: botany; mycology; technical term
Examples
- The study of autecisms in rust fungi helps plant pathologists understand disease cycles.
- Some fungal species exhibit autecisms, completing their entire life cycle on one host.
- Researchers identified autecisms in several cereal rust pathogens.