Genetic diversity of Athelia rolfsii populations in the north of Iran

Athelia rolfsii is a globally distributed soil-borne fungal pathogen causing root rot disease in many crops. In order to study the genetic diversity of this fungus, 90 isolates were collected and isolated from Guilan, Mazandaran and Golestan provinces (North of Iran). Genetic diversity of these isolates was investigated using Mycelial Compatibility Groups tests (MCG) and ISSR and SCoT markers. In this study, nine MCG groups were identified. The MCG3 group (with 36 members) was the most frequent in terms of the number of isolates and the most diverse group in terms of host domain (due to infection of eight host species). This group (MCG3) was also the only group that isolated from specimens in all three provinces. The dendrogram derived from cluster analysis of ISSR primers divided the isolates into four groups at a similarity level of 57%. The dendrogram obtained from cluster analysis of SCoT primers placed the isolates in a similarity level of 59% in three groups. Based on the results of both markers, Golestan isolates (except two isolates) were separated from Guilan and Mazandaran isolates. However, the presence of these two isolates in a separate cluster along with the isolates of Guilan and Mazandaran provinces was consistent with the results of MCG grouping. The results of this study showed that, these two types of markers are useful to differentiate isolates based on geographic regions.