Universally primed polymerase chain reaction analysis of Fusarium avenaceum isolated from wheat and barley in Finland

Authors

• Tapani Yli-Mattila Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Plant Molecular Biology, Department of Biology, FIN-20014 University of Turku, Finland
• Nina V. Mironenko All-Russian Plant Protection Institute, Laboratory of Plant Immunity to the Pests, St. Petersburg 189620, Russia
• Irina A. Alekhina Komarov Botanical Institute, Laboratory of Fungal Biochemistry, St. Petersburg 197376, Russia
• Asko Hannukkala Institute of Plant Protection, Agricultural Research Centre of Finland, FIN-31600 Jokioinen, Finland
• Sergey A. Bulat Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute (PNPI), Department of Molecular and Radiation Biophysics, Gatchina 188350, Russia

DOI: https://doi.org/10.23986/afsci.72777

Abstract

Twenty-two Fusarium avenaceum isolates from Finnish wheat and barley were analysed using the chain reaction with universal primers (UP-PCR). Each isolate could be distinguished from others by UP-PCR products on polyacrylamide gels. The isolates tested were clustered into two main groups and further into several subgroups by UP-PCR profiles and phylogenetic analyses. The phylogenetic relationships of these groups are discussed. No clear correlation was found between the groups and host plant preference or the geographic origin of F. avenaceum isolates. Pathogenicity tests showed differences between F. avenaceum isolates, but two isolates, one from wheat and the other from barley, were the most aggressive in wheat and barley. This fungus, usually known as a weak pathogen of cereals and other crops, has thus probably not evolved in respect to its ability to damage wheat or barley.