Phylogenetic relationships and genetic diversity of Monilinia spp. isolated in Poland based on housekeeping‐ and pathogenicity‐related gene sequence analysis

Abstract

AbstractMonilinia spp. fungi, which cause brown rot disease, are of great economic importance for pome and stone fruit production in Poland. To date, four species of this genus, M. fructicola, M. fructigena, M. laxa, and M. polystroma, have been identified in this country. However, little is known about their phylogenetic relationships and genetic diversity. In this research, β‐tubulin and three genes not previously studied in these species, heat shock protein 60 (hsp60), acid protease 1 (acp1), and a zinc finger transcription factor (pac1), were investigated to infer the phylogenetic relationships among these species. Diversity data, as well as recombination analyses of the sequenced regions, were used to assess the genetic variation of Monilinia fungi and the evolutionary forces that are currently acting upon these microorganisms. Based on the topology of the obtained dendrograms, the current study demonstrates the lack of a relationship between the phylogenetic position of the strain, the host plant, and the geographical origin of the strain. Additionally, our study provided evidence that phylogenetic analysis using a combination of tub2, hsp60, acp1, and pac1 gene sequences can be used to effectively resolve the relationships among Monilinia species. For each species analysed in this study, low genetic diversity and a lack of recombination were detected. On the basis of the obtained results, it can be concluded that variation in the population of Monilinia spp. in Poland is largely influenced by mutation rather than recombination processes.