Genotypic characteristics in populations of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum from New York State, USA

Abstract

AbstractWhite mould, caused by the fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, is one of the most destructive diseases of beans globally. In New York State, USA, white mould causes substantial losses in soybean, snap, dry and succulent baby lima beans, which are grown successively in intensive crop rotations. Management strategies for white mould in these crops are reliant upon the prophylactic use of fungicides. No complementary information on the genetic structure of the populations of S. sclerotiorum in New York State, USA is available. Twenty isolates of S. sclerotiorum were collected from symptomatic bean plants within each of 10 fields across New York State, USA in 2014. Eight microsatellite (SSR) markers were used to characterise the genotypic diversity of the hyphal‐tipped isolates. Twenty‐four multilocus genotypes (MLGs) were detected within the population but one MLG was most prevalent. Although STRUCTURE analysis identified two subpopulations, these subpopulations were not associated with geographic location, suggesting no spatial structure to the population. In addition, the pathogen populations were predominantly clonal, with some evidence of infrequent outcrossing. These findings may assist in understanding the durability of management strategies for white mould and support the selection of representative isolates for host resistance screening for pathogen populations in the sampling area.