Distribution of photo-induced and non-photo-induced sporulator physiotypes of Bipolaris oryzae in Japan

Abstract

The distribution of three sporulator physiotypes ofBipolaris oryzae, namely, photo-induced, and non-photo-induced (I) and (II), was investigated. Of 407 isolates, 99% belonged to the photo-induced type, in which conidial development was under photo-control of the antagonistic action of blue/UV-A and near-UV radiation mediated through the ‘mycochrome’ system at conidiophore induction and conidiophore maturation stages. Of the remainder, 1 isolate belonged to the non-photo-induced (I) type, and 4 isolates belonged to the non-photo-induced (II) type. Conidial development in the former of these was photo-controlled by the ‘mycochrome’ system at conidiophore maturation stage alone, while in the latter it was not affected by light conditions. No difference was found between the three physiotypes in restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) of rDNA. However, random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) revealed polymorphisms between photo-induced and non-photo-induced isolates and showed that non-photo-induced (I) and (II) strains were clustered in the same group, suggesting that they are genetically close. Photo-induced sporulators ofB. oryzae were confirmed to be widely distributed in paddy fields in Japan.