Elevated Genetic Diversity in the Emerging Blueberry Pathogen Exobasidium maculosum

Global Analysis of Hemileia vastatrix Populations Shows Clonal Reproduction for the Coffee Leaf Rust Pathogen Throughout Most of Its Range

Hemileia vastatrix is the most important fungal pathogen of coffee and the causal agent of recurrent disease epidemics that have invaded nearly every coffee growing region in the world. The development of coffee varieties resistant to H. vastatrix requires fundamental understanding of the biology of the fungus. However, the complete life cycle of H. vastatrix remains unknown, and conflicting studies and interpretations exist as to whether the fungus is undergoing sexual reproduction. Here we used population genetics of H. vastatrix to infer the reproductive mode of the fungus across most of its geographic range, including Central Africa, Southeast Asia, the Caribbean, and South and Central America. The population structure of H. vastatrix was determined via eight simple sequence repeat markers developed for this study. The analyses of the standardized index of association, Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, and clonal richness all strongly support asexual reproduction of H. vastatrix in all sampled areas. Similarly, a minimum spanning network tree reinforces the interpretation of clonal reproduction in the sampled H. vastatrix populations. These findings may have profound implications for resistance breeding and management programs against H. vastatrix.

Fine-Scale Genetic Structure and Reproductive Biology of the Blueberry Pathogen Monilinia vaccinii-corymbosi

The fungus Monilinia vaccinii-corymbosi, a pathogen of Vaccinium spp., requires asexual and sexual spore production to complete its life cycle. A recent study found population structuring of M. vaccinii-corymbosi over a broad spatial scale in the United States. In this study, we examined fine-scale genetic structuring, temporal dynamics, and reproductive biology within a 125-by-132-m blueberry plot from 2010 to 2012. In total, 395 isolates of M. vaccinii-corymbosi were sampled from infected shoots and fruit to examine their multilocus haplotype (MLH) using microsatellite markers. The MLH of 190 single-ascospore isolates from 21 apothecia was also determined. Little to no genetic differentiation and unrestricted gene flow were detected among four sampled time points and between infected tissue types. Discriminant analysis of principal components suggested genetic structuring within the field, with at least K = 3 genetically distinct clusters maintained over four sampled time points. Single-ascospore progeny from eight apothecia had identical MLH and at least two distinct MLH were detected from 13 apothecia. Tests for linkage disequilibrium suggested that genetically diverse ascospore progeny were the product of recombination. This study supports the idea that the fine-scale dynamics of M. vaccinii-corymbosi may be complex, with genetic structuring, inbreeding, and outcrossing detected in the study area.