Mating type, mefenoxam sensitivity, and pathotype diversity in Phytophthora infestans isolates from tomato in Brazil

The objective of this work was to characterize 79 Phytophthora infestans isolates collected in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) fields, as to mating type, mefenoxam sensitivity, and pathotype composition. The isolates were sampled in 2006 and 2007 in seven Brazilian states as well as in the Distrito Federal. They were characterised as to mating type (n=79), sensitivity to fungicide mefenoxam (n=79), and virulence to three major resistance genes Ph-1, Ph-2, and Ph-3/Ph-4 (n=62). All isolates were of the mating type A1. Resistant isolates were detected in all sampled states, and its average frequency was superior to 50%. No difference was detected in pathotype diversity, neither between subpopulations collected in 2006 and 2007 nor between isolates grouped as resistant or intermediately sensitive to mefenoxam. All major resistance genes were overcome at different frequencies: Ph-1, 88.7%; Ph-2, 64.5%; and Ph-3/Ph-4, 25.8%. Isolates with virulence genes able to overcome all major resistance genes were detected at low frequencies. Tomato breeding programs in Brazil must avoid the development of cultivars with resistance based exclusively on major genes

Genetic diversity analysis of isolates of the fungal bean pathogen Pseudocercospora griseola from central and southern Brazil

Planting resistant varieties is the most effective control measure against the angular leaf spot of dry beans, a fungal disease caused by Pseudocercospora griseola. However, dry bean varieties with durable resistance are not easily obtained. Knowledge about the genetic variability of the pathogen population is key for the success of dry bean breeding programs aimed at developing resistant materials, but finding suitable operationally simple and genetically accurate markers is not an easy task. The aim of this study was to assess the suitability of the ISSR-PCR technique to quantify the genetic variability of P. griseola isolates. Total DNA of 27 P. griseola isolates from Goiás, Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo, and Paraná States was extracted and amplified using specific primers for ISSR. Using cluster analysis, 27 genotypes were identified. The ISSR-PCR technique was suitable for assessing intraspecific variability of P. griseola. The ISSR-PCR marker was found to be highly sensitive to genetic variation and can aid in elucidating the genetic structure of the population of this plant pathogen as a support tool for the dry bean breeding programs

Agrupamento de curvas de progresso de requeima, em tomateiro originado de cruzamento interespecífico

O objetivo deste trabalho foi estimar curvas de progresso de requeima, em genótipos de tomateiro, e identificar grupos de genótipos resistentes à doença. Foram avaliados 25 híbridos de tomateiro, originados de cruzamentos entre quatro variedades comerciais, um acesso do Banco de Germoplasma de Hortaliças (BGH), da Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV), e cinco linhagens F8 (Solanum lycopersicum x Solanum habrochaites), estas últimas selecionadas como fonte de resistência à requeima. As plantas foram inoculadas com uma mistura de esporângios de Phytophthora infestans e, em seguida, foram realizadas seis avaliações quanto à severidade de requeima, a intervalos de três dias. Ajustou-se o modelo exponencial aos dados de percentagem de severidade de requeima, e as estimativas obtidas quanto à incidência inicial da doença (y o) e taxa de progresso da doença (r) foram submetidas à análise de variância multivariada (Manova). As médias dessas estimativas, para cada genótipo, foram submetidas à análise de agrupamento. Observou-se um número ótimo de oito grupos distintos, o que possibilitou identificar genótipos resistentes e suscetíveis. Os híbridos experimentais Ikram x 73 A, Nemo-Netta x 133 A, Ikram x 163 A e Nemo-Netta x 163 A apresentaram a menor taxa de progresso de requeima e, portanto, maior resistência à doença

Brazilian begomovirus populations are highly recombinant, rapidly evolving, and segregated based on geographical location

The incidence of begomovirus infections in crop plants sharply increased in Brazil during the 1990s following the introduction of the invasive B biotype of the whitefly vector, Bemisia tabaci. It is believed that this biotype transmitted begomoviruses from noncultivated plants to crop species with greater efficiency than indigenous B. tabaci biotypes. Either through rapid host adaptation or selection pressure in genetically diverse populations of noncultivated hosts, over the past 20 years various previously unknown begomovirus species have became progressively more prevalent in cultivated species such as tomato. Here we assess the genetic structure of begomovirus populations infecting tomatoes and noncultivated hosts in southeastern Brazil. Between 2005 and 2010, we sampled and sequenced 126 DNA-A and 58 DNA-B full-length begomovirus components. We detected nine begomovirus species in tomatoes and eight in the noncultivated host samples, with four species common to both tomatoes and noncultivated hosts. Like many begomoviruses, most species are obvious interspecies recombinants. Furthermore, species identified in tomato have probable parental viruses from noncultivated hosts. While the population structures of five well-sampled viral species all displayed geographical subdivision, a noncultivated host-infecting virus was more genetically variable than the four predominantly tomato-infecting viruses