Molecular variability and genetic relationship among Brazilian strains of the sugarcane smut fungus

DANIEL P. LONGATTO; ALESSANDRA C. PALHARES; MARIA C. QUECINE; LUIS EDUARDO A. CAMARGO; JULIANA BENEVENUTO; NATALIA MIELNICHUK; SUZANE SAITO; GISLAINE V. REIS; MARIA LUCIA C. VIEIRA; GISELLE CARVALHO; CLAUDIA B. MONTEIRO-VITORELLO; ALVARO SANGUINO; SILVANA CRESTE

FEMS MICROBIOLOGY LETTERS

WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2016 vol. 363

0378-1097

Sporisorium scitamineum is the fungus that causes sugarcane smut disease. Despite of the importance of sugarcane forBrazilian agribusiness and the persistence of the pathogen in most cropping areas, genetic variation studies are stillmissing for Brazilian isolates. In this study, sets of isolates were analyzed using two molecular markers (AFLP and telRFLP)and ITS sequencing. Twenty-two whips were collected from symptomatic plants in cultivated sugarcane fields of Brazil. Atotal of 41 haploid strains of compatible mating types were selected from individual teliospores and used for moleculargenetic analyses. telRFLP and ITS analyses were expanded to six Argentine isolates, where the sugarcane smut was firstrecorded in America. Genetic relationship among strains suggests the human-mediated dispersal of S. scitamineum withinthe Brazilian territory and between the two neighboring countries. Two genetically distinct groups were defined by thecombined analysis of AFLP and telRFLP. The opposite mating-type strains derived from single teliospores were clusteredtogether into these main groups, but had not always identical haplotypes. telRFLP markers analyzed over two generationsof selfing and controlled outcrossing confirmed the potential for emergence of new variants and occurrence ofrecombination, which are relevant events for evolution of virulence and environmental adaptation.