Genetic diversity and population structure of Iranian isolates of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceris, the causal agent of chickpea wilt, using ISSR and DAMD-PCR markers

Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceris (FOC), is one of the most important soil-borne diseases of chickpea in the world. In order to study the genetic diversity of Iranian FOC isolates, sixty five isolates of the pathogen were isolated from wilted chickpea plants from different chickpea growing areas of West of Iran. Phylogenetic analysis using ISSR and DAMD-PCR markers grouped FOC isolates into six and five distinct groups, respectively. Both ISSR and DAMD-PCR markers showed a high level of polymorphism and were found to be effective in determining genetic diversity in FOC isolates. The genetic structure of 65 FOC isolates showed the highest peak at K = 5 indicating the that the collected FOC isolates should be divided into five populations. The results of FOC grouping by ISSR and DAMDPCR markers showed relatively low correlation with geographic origins. Overall, our results showed a high genetic diversity level in Iranian FOC isolates, which might be mediated by gene mutation or chromosomal segment loss and may suggest a longer evolutionary period for FOC isolates from the chickpea growing area in the west of Iran. The results of the presented study will be useful to chickpea breeders for effective selection of durable resistance sources.