A rapid molecular technique to distinguish Fusarium species

The nuclear DNA (nDNA) of different isolates of three closely related, toxin-producing Fusarium species, F. moniliforme, F. nygamai and F. napiforme, was compared to ascertain the sensitivity of a molecular method to distinguish these three species. The nDNA of these strains was digested with the restriction enzyme EcoRI and Southern analysis performed with the 6·3 kb ribosomal DNA (rDNA) repeat unit of Neurospora crassa as probe. Distinct polymorphic fragment patterns, which distinguished between the different Fusarium species, were obtained.