Identification of DNA Unique to the Tomato Fusarium Wilt and Crown Rot Pathogens

Abstract

Wilt and crown rot are two important diseases of tomato caused by different strains ("formae speciales") of the fungus, Fusarium oxysporum. While both pathogens are members of the same fungal species, each differs genetically and resistance to the diseases is controlled by different genes in the plant. Additionally, the formae speciales differ in their ecology (e.g. optimal temperature of disease development) and epidemiology. Nevertheless, the distinction between these diseases based on symptoms alone may be unclear due to overlapping symptomatology. We have found in our research that the ambiguity of the pathogens is further confounded because strains causing tomato wilt or crown rot each may belong to several genetically and phylogenetically distinct lineages of F. oxysporum. Furthermore, individual lineages of the pathogen causing wilt or crown rot may themselves be very closely related. The diseases share the characteristic that the pathogen's inoculum may be aerially dispersed. This work has revealed a complex evolutionary relationship among lineages of the pathogens that makes development of molecular diagnostic methods more difficult than originally anticipated. However, the degree of diversity found in these soil-borne pathogens has allowed study of their population genetics and patterns of dispersal in agricultural settings.