Genetic diversity of F. oxysporium f. sp. ciceri isolates causal agent of wilt chickpea in Kermanshah province using microsatellite markers

Wilt disease caused by Fusarium oxysporium f.sp. ciceri (Foc) is one of the most important diseases of chickpea in Kermanshah Provinces. For determining of genetic diversity in Foc populations, Chickpea plants with wilt and yellowing symptoms were randomly sampled from different farms such as: Islamabad, Sarpolezahab, Dorodfaraman, Mahidasht and Harsin. A total of 45 Foc isolates were obtained from infected samples by potato dextrose agar media (PDA). Five Simple sequence repeat (SSR) paired primers were used for study of genetic structure of isolates. (SSR) markers showed 100 polymorphic percent. A total of 15 alleles were revealed in Foc isolates. The average of polymorphic information content was 91% for all markers. Based on dendrogram with neighbor joining method, the isolates were divided into nine groups. A comparison of the parameter related to genetic diversity including Shannon's information index (I) of populations indicated that Drodfaraman have the highest genetic diversity. The smallest genetic distance was observed between Drodfaraman and Harsin. The AMOVA analysis of genetic variation in Foc populations revealed that 93% of the variance occurred within populations and 7% occurred among populations. Knowledge of genetic diversity in Foc provides different levels of information which is important in the management of germplasm resources. Results from this study will be useful in breeding for chickpea resistant cultivars and developing necessary quarantine regulations.