Abstract
The genus Alternaria is a widely distributed major plant pathogen that can act as a saprophyte in plant debris. Fungi of this genus frequently infect cereal crops and cause such diseases as black point and wheat leaf blight, which decrease the yield and quality of cereal products. A total of 25 Alternaria sp. isolates were collected from germ grains of various wheat cultivars from different geographic regions in Kazakhstan. We investigated the genetic relationships of the main Alternaria species related to black point disease of wheat in Kazakhstan, using the inter-primer binding site (iPBS) DNA profiling technique. We used 25 retrotransposon-based iPBS primers to identify the differences among and within Alternaria species populations, and analyzed the variation using clustering (UPGMA) and statistical approaches (AMOVA). Isolates of Alternaria species clustered into two main genetic groups, with species of A.alternata and A.tennuissima forming one cluster, and isolates of A. infectoria forming another. The genetic diversity found using retrotransposon profiles was strongly correlated with geographic data. Overall, the iPBS fingerprinting technique is highly informative and useful for the evaluation of genetic diversity and relationships of Alternaria species.
Highlights
Kazakhstan is an important bread wheat exporter due to the exceptional grain quality and high protein content of wheat crops
This study demonstrated the effectiveness of inter-primer binding site (iPBS) amplification for DNA profiling and identification of the endophytic fungi Alternaria species in wheat grains
The genetic diversity found here using retrotransposon profiles was strongly correlated with geographic data
Summary
Kazakhstan is an important bread wheat exporter due to the exceptional grain quality and high protein content of wheat crops. Spring wheat is the main export crop in Kazakhstan, grown on approximately 14.3 million ha (FAO, 2013), most of which is concentrated in North Kazakhstan. In this region, climatic conditions favor the development of pathogenic microorganisms in wheat crops, reducing the productivity and quality of grain (https://stat.gov.kz/) (Fehér et al, 2017). Fungi of the genus Alternaria commonly infect cereal crops and cause diseases such as black point and wheat leaf blight, which decrease the yield and quality of cereal products (Woudenberg et al, 2015). Deterioration of cereal products is caused by mycotoxins produced by Alternaria fungi, which can have carcinogenic and allergic effects
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