Genetic structure of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceri populations from chickpea in Ilam province, Iran

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is one of the most important legume crops in Iran. Wilt disease caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceri, is the most important soil-borne disease of chickpea in the world. This disease caused high losses in different regions during recent years. Simple sequence repeat (SSR) were used to estimate genetic diversity in 114 of F. oxysporum isolates from six counties in the west of Iran (Asemanabad, Sarableh, Eivan, Badreh, Chardavol, and Dareh Shahr). A set of five microsatellite primer pairs revealed 17 alleles in each locus across the populations. A low level of genetic variability was observed among isolates in these regions. Genetic diversity was low (H = 0.269) within populations with corresponding high average gene flow and low genetic distances between populations. The smallest genetic distance was observed between isolates from Chardavol and Darahshahr regions. The effective number of alleles was higher in Asemanabad in comparison to the other populations. The number of (H)and Shannon's Information index (I) were also higher in Badreh (H= 0.430, I= 0.281). The total gene diversity and gene diversities between subpopulation were estimated 0.2004 and 0.188, respectively. Gene diversity attributable to differentiation among populations was 0.0618, while gene flow was 7.589. Cluster analysis based on UPGMA showed the lowest genetic distance between Chardavol and Dareh Shahr, then between Chardavol and Badreh. The dendrogram indicated a clear break between Asemanabad and the remaining populations. These results will be useful in breeding for chickpea root rot resistant cultivars and developing necessary control measures.