Population structure and mixed reproductive strategies in Bipolaris maydis from single and multiple corn cultivars in Fujian Province, China

Yuli Dai; Lin Gan; Chengzhong Lan; Xiaofei Liu; Wende Liu; Xiujuan Yang

doi:10.3389/fpls.2023.1232414

Population structure and mixed reproductive strategies in Bipolaris maydis from single and multiple corn cultivars in Fujian Province, China

Front Plant Sci. 2023 Oct 3:14:1232414. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1232414. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Yuli Dai¹, Lin Gan¹, Chengzhong Lan¹, Xiaofei Liu¹, Wende Liu², Xiujuan Yang¹

Affiliations

¹ Fujian Key Laboratory for Monitoring and Integrated Management of Crop Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Fuzhou, Fujian, China.
² State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China.

Abstract

Bipolaris maydis is the pathogenic microorganism of southern corn leaf blight, a persistent biotic constraint responsible for substantial yield losses of corn worldwide. In the present study, 96 isolates from six representative fields growing single and multiple sweet corn cultivars in Pingnan, Fuqing, and Jian'ou in Fujian Province, which are characterized by different geographical characteristics and cropping patterns, were genetically analyzed using inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers to assess the impact of geographical origins and corn cultivars on B. maydis population differentiation. B. maydis isolates originated from diverse regions possessed higher genetic variety than those from single and multiple sweet corn cultivars. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the isolates from single and multiple sweet corn cultivars were randomly grouped into different clusters, with those from the same location tending to form clusters. A greater genetic differentiation among different geographical populations than between those from single and multiple sweet corn cultivars was observed by pairwise comparison. Hierarchical analysis indicated that among-population variation was higher when comparatively analyzed B. maydis populations from different locations than in those from single and multiple sweet corn cultivars. In conclusion, these results suggest that geographical origin acts a more considerable role in genetic differentiation of B. maydis than corn cultivar. Two divided genetic clusters were detected in the B. maydis populations from single and multiple sweet corn cultivars at the three locations in Fujian Province, with major genetic variation being derived within populations. The high haplotypic diversity and expected mating type ratio of 1:1 in combination with significant linkage disequilibrium suggested that a mixed reproductive strategy occurs in the B. maydis population in Fujian Province. This study will enrich the information on the role that geographical origins and corn cultivars play in the population structure of the pathogen as well as the reproductive strategies in B. maydis population in Fujian Province.

Keywords: Bipolaris maydis; genetic differentiation; genetic structure; haplotypic diversity; mating type; reproductive strategy.

Grants and funding

This study is supported by (a) the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2021YFC2600402), (b) the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32061143033), (c) the “5511” Collaborative Innovation Project of High-quality Agricultural Development and Surpassment in Fujian Province (XTCXGC2021011, XTCXGC2021017), and (d) Innovation Team of Plant Protection, Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CXTD2021002-1).