Investigation of Genetic Diversity in Fusarium of Elegans and Martiella-Ventricosum Sections related to Cucurbits using ISSR markers in Tehran province

Objective This research aimed to identify Fusariums belonging to Elegans and Martiella-Ventricosum sections related to cucurbit plants in Tehran province and to evaluate the ability of ISSR markers to investigate the kinship relationships of these groups of Fusariums. Materials and methods In this research, five ISSR primers (AG)8C, (AG)8G, (AC)8YA, (ATG)6 and BHB(GA)7 were selected. Fungal isolates identified based on morphological and microscopic characteristics. For ISSR markers, the statistics of polymorphism information content (PIC), Marker Index (MI) and Effective Multiplex Ratio (EMR) were calculated. Relationships and similarity between Fusarium isolates were analyzed using NTSYS-PC V2.02. Results Out of 96 Fusarium isolates, 48 isolates were identified as Fusarium solani, 25 isolates as Fusarium oxysporum and 23 isolates as Fusarium redolens. A total of 408 bands were obtained from ISSR amplifications. 130 different bands were produced, of which 83 were polymorphic and 47 were monomorphic. The size of PCR fragments produced varied from 273 to 2428 bp. The polymorphism percentage, ranged from the highest (73%) for (ATG)6 to the lowest (56%) for (AG)8C. Primers (ATG)6 and BHB(GA)7 performed better in differentiation Elegans and Martiella-Ventricosum sections from each other. Primers (AG)8C with 26 gene loci, and BHB(GA)7 with 25 gene loci, produced the most bands in Elegans isolates and Martiella-Ventricosum isolates, respectively. Conclusions The results of this research showed that there was a high genetic diversity among the investigated Fusarium isolates and that the ISSR markers are efficient markers to reveal the molecular relationships between Fusarium populations.