Abstract
The diversity and genetic differentiation of populations of Fusarium species associated with sorghum fields, both endophytes obtained from sorghum performing and non performing plants and isolates obtained from two sampling periods were investigated. Fusarium specific Internal Transcribed Spacer 2 (FITS2) primers set were used to assess genetic variability of 32 isolates from susceptible Fusarium spp. endophytes from Sorghum tissues. Fusarium thapsinum (Gibberella thapsina) with 68.75% of the isolates constituted the majority of Fusarium spp. isolated in performing plants. Gibberella thapsina species identified are described as non-pathogenic and associated to performing plant of sorghum. Previously, some species of Fusarium thapsinum have been recognized as pathogenic and responsible for yield losses in several cereal crops including Sorghum bicolor produced in Burkina Faso. The other Fusarium spp. identified in this study including Fusarium subglutinans, Fusarium chlamydosporum, Gibberella intermedia, Fusarium dlaminii, Fusarium oxysporum, Fusarium proliferatum, and Fusarium spp. An additional unknown fungi species were also identified. A diverse population of 10 sequence types was found, although 8 sequence types represented nearly two-thirds of the isolates studied. The sequence types were placed in different phylogenetic clades within Fusarium spp., and endophytic isolates were not monophyletic. Phylogenetic analysis from Neighbor-Joining/UnWeighted Neighbor-Joining showed a high genetic relationship among these 32 isolates of Fusarium spp. and high variation in FITS sequence of them. The use of specific phylomarker of the genus Fusarium allowed to identify the endophytic species of this genus and to establish the phylogenetic relationships between the endophytic species of Fusarium. The phylogenetic analysis revealed three groups of the fungi. However, no relationship between these groups and the geographical origins of these fungi has been established. Key words: Fusarium thapsinum, endophyte, FITS2 marker, sorghum.
Highlights
Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) is the fith most important grain crop in the world and the main cereal crops grown in sub-Saharan Africa in terms of cultivated area, production and consumption (FAOSTAT, 2015)
The diversity and genetic differentiation of populations of Fusarium species associated with sorghum fields, both endophytes obtained from sorghum performing and non performing plants and isolates obtained from two sampling periods were investigated
This study identifies the benefit of Fusarium endophyte species associated in performing plant used as specific PCR primer set of Fusarium spp. by amplification of the ITS2 region
Summary
Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) is the fith most important grain crop in the world and the main cereal crops grown in sub-Saharan Africa in terms of cultivated area, production and consumption (FAOSTAT, 2015). The disease is caused by several fungal genera, including Fusarium, Leptosphaeria, Cochliobolus and Cladosporium (Pak et al, 2016) These fungi are capable of producing mycotoxins in grains which are harmful for human and animal consumption (Agriopoulou et al, 2020). Fusarium moniliforme (Fusarium thapsinum) is one of the most important fungal species that colonize sorghum plant tissues and are mostly considered as pathogens. Endophytes are thought to play multiple physiological and ecological roles in the mutualistic association with their host plants (Ilis et al, 2017) These symbiotic associations are characterized by the early formation of particular of organs and new tissues for the signaling and nutrient communications between plants and microorganisms (Hiruma et al, 2016; Zipfel and Oldroyd, 2017). The research established phylogenetic relationship of the 32 endophytic Fusarium spp. identified
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