Genetic characterization of Fusarium graminearum and F. culmorum isolates from Turkey by using random-amplified polymorphic DNA

Five Fusarium graminearum and 12 F. culmorum isolates, primarily pathogenic species of Fusarium head blight, were obtained from naturally infected wheat from various agro-ecological regions of Turkey. Genotyping of the isolates was carried out using random-amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD). Sixty-five 10-mer oligonucleotide primers were used to amplify the RAPD markers. Among them, 50 primers produced strong and reproducible DNA amplicons. The remaining primers generated either insufficient or no amplification patterns. In total, 1200 fragments were scored, 311 of which were determined to be polymorphic and unique to the isolates. The produced RAPD markers ranged from 0.2 to 5 kb. The mean genetic similarity values of the F. graminearum and F. culmorum isolates were 61.5 and 65%, respectively. The similarity coefficient was 43 to 76.1% among F. graminearum isolates and 49 to 81.1% among F. culmorum isolates. Genetically, the most similar F. graminearum isolates were F6 and F7 (76.1%), which originated from the same agro-ecological region (Sakarya). The most similar F. culmorum isolates were F20 and F21 (81.1%), which were from different geographic regions (Bilecik and UÅŸak, respectively). Moreover, interspecific variation between the two species was determined to be 86.3 to 93.3%. Cluster analysis generated two branched groups, each containing isolates of one species, except F13 of F. culmorum. The sequencing of stable and reproducible monomorphic and polymorphic RAPD markers indicated that the Fusarium genome shared high similarity (105-625 bit scores) with the genomes of other organisms as well as with the F. graminearum reference genome.