Genetic diversity of Alternaria species associated with black point in wheat grains

The genus is a widely distributed major plant pathogen that can act as a saprophyte in plant debris. Fungi of this genus frequently infect cereal crops and cause such diseases as black point and wheat leaf blight, which decrease the yield and quality of cereal products. A total of 25 sp. isolates were collected from germ grains of various wheat cultivars from different geographic regions in Kazakhstan. We investigated the genetic relationships of the main species related to black point disease of wheat in Kazakhstan, using the inter-primer binding site (iPBS) DNA profiling technique. We used 25 retrotransposon-based iPBS primers to identify the differences among and within species populations, and analyzed the variation using clustering (UPGMA) and statistical approaches (AMOVA). Isolates of species clustered into two main genetic groups, with species of and forming one cluster, and isolates forming another. The genetic diversity found using retrotransposon profiles was strongly correlated with geographic data. Overall, the iPBS fingerprinting technique is highly informative and useful for the evaluation of genetic diversity and relationships of species.