Phytopathology (2007) 97, 825-834

Marizeth Groenewald, Irene Barnes, Rosie E. Bradshaw, Anna V. Brown, Angie Dale, Johannes Z. Groenewald, Kathy J. Lewis, Brenda D. Wingfield, Michael J. Wingfield and Pedro W. Crous (2007)
Characterization and distribution of mating type genes in the Dothistroma needle blight pathogens
Phytopathology 97 (7), 825-834
Abstract: Dothistroma septosporum and D. pini are the two causal agents of Dothistroma needle blight of Pinus spp. in natural forests and plantations. Degenerate primers amplified portions of mating type genes (MAT1-1-1 and MAT1-2) and chromosome walking was applied to obtain the full-length genes in both species. The mating-type-specific primers designed in this study could distinguish between the morphologically similar D. pini and D. septosporum and between the different mating types of these species. Screening of isolates from global collections of D. septosporum showed that only MAT2 isolates are present in Australian and New Zealand collections, where only the asexual form of the fungus has been found. In contrast, both mating types of D. septosporum were present in collections from Canada and Europe, where the sexual state is known. Intriguingly, collections from South Africa and the United Kingdom, where the sexual state of the fungus is unknown, included both mating types. In D. pini, for which no teleomorph is known, both mating types were present in collections from the United States. These results provided new insights into the biology and global distribution of two of the world's most important pine pathogens and should facilitate management of the diseases caused by these fungi.
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Database assignments for author(s): Marizeth Groenewald, Brenda D. Wingfield, Michael J. Wingfield, Pedro W. Crous, Johannes Z. Groenewald, Angie L. Dale, Irene Barnes, Rosie E. Bradshaw

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
general biology - morphology - evolution
surveys/sampling/distribution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Dothistroma septosporum	Pine (Pinus)	United Kingdom
	Dothistroma septosporum	Pine (Pinus)	New Zealand
	Dothistroma septosporum	Pine (Pinus)	South Africa
	Dothistroma pini	Pine (Pinus)