Mycelial compatibility groups of Macrophomina phaseolina in Iran

The charcoal root disease caused by Macrophomina phaseolina is necrotroph pathogen with wide host range and showed various phenotipic intraspecies variabiity. Considering the difficult identification of intraspecies heterogeneity on the basis of phenotypic factors, compatible mycelium groups were introduced as an appropriate tool for classification and intraspecies heterogeneity distinction. In the present study, mycelial compatibility groups (MCGs) were investigated among a total of 112 isolates of M. phaseolina from different hosts in different regions of Iran. A total of 33 different MCGs were identified, showing the existence of high genetic diversity among the fungal isolates. There was no relationship between mycelial compatibility grouping, geographic distributions and host origins of the isolates. This is the first report on the compatible mycelium groups of M. phaseolina isolats in Iran.