Study on pathogenic and molecular variability in some isolates of Ascochyta rabiei causal agent of ascochyta blight of chickpea in Iran

Pathogenic and molecular variability of 30 isolates of Ascochyta rabiei the causal agent of Ascochyta blight of chickpea collected from five provinces of Iran including Ilam, Kermanshah, Kohkiloyeh-Boyerahmad, East Azarbaijan and Lorestan was studied. Based on pathogenicity test, which was conducted using 7 differential chickpea cultivars, the isolates were categorized into 16 groups. All isolates collected from East Azarbaijan (Ar17, Ar18, Ar19), two isolates from Kohkiloyeh- Boyerahmad (Ar16, Ar34), one isolates from Kermanshah (Ar27), and one isolate from Lorestan (Ar2) had the highest pathogenicity. These isolates have potential to be used in breeding for resistance to ascochyta blight disease. Molecular variability of the isolates was studied using nine random RAPD primers and the data was analyzed using UPGMA clustering method and Jaccard similarity coefficient. The isolates were categorized into nine clusters. The average genetic similarity of isolates was 75% which indicates there was a high level of genetic variability in the population.