Interpreting variability among isolates of <i>Macrophomina phaseolina</i> in pathogenicity, pycnidium production, and chlorate utilization

One hundred and fourteen isolates of Macrophomina phaseolina from tissue of hosts in the Asteraceae, Euphorbiaceae, Fabaceae, and Poaceae, and from cultivated and noncultivated soils in Somalia (east Africa) and Arizona were tested for pathogenicity, ability to form pycnidia, and chlorate-utilization phenotype. Hyphal interactions of pairs of isolates from noncultivated soils in Somalia and Arizona were examined to address the possibility of genetic reproductive isolation of two geographically separated populations. Isolates from the Poaceae were less pathogenic and formed pycnidia less frequently compared with isolates from dicot host tissue. Chlorate-utilization phenotype was unrelated to host tissue source. However, isolates that infrequently or never produced pycnidia were more likely to have chlorate-sensitive phenotypes. Apparently successful hyphal fusions were observed for 64.3% of confrontations where one isolate was taken from Arizona and one was from Somalia, implying no barrier to genetic interchange at this initial level of interaction. While M. phaseolina is a heterogeneous species that cannot be partitioned into distinct subspecific groups based upon function, it appears that isolates colonizing the Poaceae are more restricted in pathogenicity than the general population. Key words: chlorate utilization, geographic isolation, host specialization, hyphal interactions, Macrophomina phaseolina.