Southern corn rust (SCR) caused by Puccinia polysora is one of the most devastating diseases in the world. In recent years, SCR has been upgraded from a minor to a major disease around the world, including in China. However, little is known about its population genetics and structure in China. In this study, we analyzed 288 isolates collected from various localities during 2017 in seven Chinese provinces: Guangxi, Guangdong, Anhui, Hunan, Shandong, Henan, and Shaanxi. The isolates were analyzed using nine microsatellite markers. The population structure, genetic diversity, and reproduction mode of P. polysora were investigated based on genotype data. Strong genotypic diversity was detected and clonal reproduction was dominant. The populations collected from the pathogen's winter-reproductive regions harbored more genotypes than those collected from the pathogen's epidemic regions. The spatial differences in genotypic richness, and evenness among the populations were significant, and showed a decreasing trend from south to north. Most isolates were clustered into two clonal groups. Two high-frequency multilocus genotypes (MLGs), MLG1 and MLG2, were widely distributed in all populations. Our analyses confirmed that P. polysora employed clone dispersal from the pathogen's winter-reproductive regions to the pathogen's epidemic regions, and in addition to the sources from the pathogen's winter-reproductive regions, the pathogen in Anhui and Hunan might also have other sources from areas such as Taiwan, China, or/and Southeast Asia, and the pathogen went through a genetic bottleneck during its dispersal. These findings provide initial insights into the reproduction mode and dispersal pathways of P. polysora in China.
Keywords: Puccinia polysora; clonal reproduction; genetic diversity; population structure; southern corn rust.