Evidence of genetically diverse virulent mating types of Phytophthora capsici from Capsicum annum L

• Published in: World journal of microbiology & biotechnology 2018-09, Vol.34 (9), p.130-15, Article 130
• Main Authors: Nawaz, Kiran, Shahid, Ahmad Ali, Bengyella, Louis, Subhani, Muhammad Nasir, Ali, Muhammad, Anwar, Waheed, Iftikhar, Sehrish, Ali, Shinawar Waseem
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acrylamides - pharmacology; Alanine - analogs & derivatives; Alanine - pharmacology; Applied Microbiology; Azoxystrobin; Biochemistry; Biological evolution; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biotechnology; Capsicum; Capsicum - microbiology; Cluster Analysis; Deoxyribonucleic acid; Divergence; DNA; DNA, Ribosomal - genetics; Drug Resistance; Elongated structure; Environmental Engineering/Biotechnology; Evolution; Evolution, Molecular; Farm buildings; Farms; Fungicides; Fungicides, Industrial - pharmacology; Genes, Mating Type, Fungal - genetics; Genetic diversity; Genetic Variation; Growth patterns; Life Sciences; Mating; Mating types; Mefenoxam; Microbiology; Morpholines - pharmacology; Original Paper; Pakistan; Peptide Chain Elongation, Translational - genetics; Phenotype; Phylogeny; Phytophthora - classification; Phytophthora - drug effects; Phytophthora - genetics; Phytophthora - isolation & purification; Phytophthora capsici; Plant Diseases - microbiology; Plant Roots - parasitology; Population structure; Pyrimidines - pharmacology; Ribosomal DNA; Risk analysis; Risk Factors; Sporangia - cytology; Strobilurins - pharmacology; Temperature; Translation elongation; Tubulin; Tubulin - genetics; Virulence
• ISSN: 0959-3993; 1573-0972
• DOI: 10.1007/s11274-018-2511-y

Chili pepper ( Capsicum annum L.) is an important economic crop that is severely destroyed by the filamentous oomycete Phytophthora capsici . Little is known about this pathogen in key chili pepper farms in Punjab province, Pakistan. We investigated the genetic diversity of P. capsici strains using standard taxonomic and molecular tools, and characterized their colony growth patterns as well as their disease severity on chili pepper plants under the greenhouse conditions. Phylogenetic analysis based on ribosomal DNA (rDNA), β-tubulin and translation elongation factor 1α loci revealed divergent evolution in the population structure of P. capsici isolates. The mean oospore diameter of mating type A1 isolates was greater than that of mating type A2 isolates. We provide first evidence of an uneven distribution of highly virulent mating type A1 and A2 of P. capsici that are insensitive to mefenoxam, pyrimorph, dimethomorph, and azoxystrobin fungicides, and represent a risk factor that could ease outpacing the current P. capsici management strategies.