Assessment of Genetic Diversity Among Fusarium Species Isolated from Wheat Using SCoT Markers

Fusarium species pose significant threats to wheat cultivation by inducing root rot, crown rot, and head blight. Understanding the genetic variations within these species is pivotal for effective disease management strategies. This investigation aimed to evaluate the genetic variation among isolates of Fusarium culmorum, F. graminearum, and F. pseudograminearum following their identification via cultural and species-specific PCR assays. The application of species-specific PCR facilitated the precise identification of these species by generating bands of distinct sizes (F. culmorum: 570 bp, F. pseudograminearum: 520 bp; F. graminearum: 420 bp), aligning with morphological classifications. A total of 36 Start Codon Targeted (SCoT) markers were employed to characterize the genetic variability among Fusarium isolates. Among the selected SCoT primers, 181 bands were amplified, with 131 exhibiting polymorphism (72.37%). The percentages of polymorphic bands in primers varied between 61.54 and 89.29. The highest polymorphism locus was observed in Fusarium culmorum with 12.71%, followed by F. pseudograminearum and F. graminearum. The average polymorphism information content and resolving power for the SCoT markers were calculated as 0.26 and 10.04, respectively. Utilizing the unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) clustering analysis employing Dice's method, the SCoT data delineated the Fusarium isolates into three distinct clusters corresponding to species. The study which focused on specifically evaluating the genetic diversity of Fusarium culmorum, F. graminearum and F. pseudograminearum, recognized as primary threats to global wheat cultivation, with SCoT markers, substantial genetic variations were revealed among Fusarium isolates at both inter- and intra-species levels. This investigation represents the initial endeavor to elucidate the genetic diversity of Fusarium isolates obtained from wheat utilizing SCoT markers.