Fusarium graminearum trichothecene producing isolates can be broadly divided into two chemotypes based on the production of the 8- ketotrichothecenes deoxynivalenol (DON) and nivalenol (NIV). Functional Tri13 gene required for the production of NIV and 4- acetyl NIV, whereas in the isolates producing DON and its acetylated derivates, this gene is nonfunctional. In this study, a total of 57 isolates from different fields of Mazandaran province, Iran were identified as F. graminearum using classical methods and species specific primers. In order to assess the potential of isolates to produce NIV or DON, we used PCR to determine whether isolates carried a functional or nonfunctional Tri13 gene. Out of the 57 tested F. graminearum isolates with Tri13 PCR assays, 46 yielded an amplicon similar to the size predicted for nivalenol production, while 11 yielded an amplicon similar to the size predicted for deoxynivalenol production. From regions where more than one F. graminearum isolate was obtained, isolates were not exclusively of a single chemotype. It seems that genetic diversity among the isolates has relation with geographical region and wheat cultivar. The assay can provide information about the distribution of Tri13 haplotype that can be used in tracing of trichothecene contaminated samples.

Rhizoctonia solani anastomosis group 4 (AG-4) is a serious pathogen causing damping off and root rot in many important crop plants. A total of 190 isolates of R. solani AG-4 HG-I were collected from host fields in five provinces of Iran. The genetic structure of this pathogen was evaluated using seven microsatellite loci, focusing particularly on geographic differentiation. Most of the multilocus genotypes (MLGTs) were unique, with few MLGTs shared among populations. High to moderate levels of gene flow among populations was indicated by low to moderate differentiation between pairs of populations based on the fixation index (F ST ). Gametic equilibrium of most pairs of microsatellite loci and moderate genotypic diversity were found for two out of five populations, indicating that these populations were sexually recombining in structure. High genotypic diversity, moderate clonal fractions and site-specific genotypes were consistent with mixed reproductive systems for the remaining populations. The findings of departures from Hardy-Weinberg (HW) equilibrium, gametic disequilibrium and a significant excess of homozygotes in half or more than half of the loci were probably caused by the presence of null alleles and the Wahlund effect. This is the first study to consider the population genetics of the root and crown rot pathogen R. solani AG-4.

This article documents the addition of 83 microsatellite marker loci and 96 pairs of single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) sequencing primers to the Molecular Ecology Resources Database. Loci were developed for the following species: Bembidion lampros, Inimicus japonicus, Lymnaea stagnalis, Panopea abbreviata, Pentadesma butyracea, Sycoscapter hirticola and Thanatephorus cucumeris (anamorph: Rhizoctonia solani). These loci were cross-tested on the following species: Pentadesma grandifolia and Pentadesma reyndersii. This article also documents the addition of 96 sequencing primer pairs and 88 allele-specific primers or probes for Plutella xylostella.