Mating Type Groups of Ascochyta rabiei (Teleomorph: Didymella rabiei), the Causal Agent of Chickpea Blight in Central Anatolia

The distribution of mating types of Ascochyta rabiei (teleomorph: Didymella rabiei) was studied on isolates collected from chickpea growing areas of Central Anatolia. Mating type assessments of 45 isolates from 6 different provinces were conducted under laboratory conditions. After keeping for 5-6 weeks, the pseudothecial development and ascospore production were observed on chickpea stem pieces that were incubated in 8 ± 1 °C and 85% relative humidity. Both mating types were found in all the provinces, except for Kayseri and Sivas. The majority of the isolates belonged to Mat 1-1 (57.8%) and the others (42.2%) to MAT 1-2. Additionally, the mating types of A. rabiei were differentiated from each other using the multiplex PCR method with the primers Com1, Tail 5, and SP21. MAT 1-1 isolates were amplified to approximately a 460 bp fragment and MAT 1-2 isolates to a 700 bp fragment, in accordance with the discrimination of mating type groups with conventional methods.