PCR based race identification of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceri using molecular markers

Abstract

The present study deals with molecular characterization of six different races of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceri (Foc) using different marker techniques, like gene specific ITS (Inter transcribed spacers), SCAR (Sequence characterized amplified region) and CAPS (Cleaved amplified polymorphic sequences. The ITS primers FDP 9 and FDP14 differentiated race 4 and race 2, respectively. The SCAR primers FocR0- M15f/R and FocR5-L10f/R identified 900bp bands for race2 and race 5 among all races. Restriction analysis of the undifferentiating alleles obtained by FDP 25 ITS primer in all the races depicted a 500bp unique band in race 4, which could be used as CAPS marker in Foc race identification. Multiplexing of positive ITS primers was done in order to facilitate race identification based on more than one loci of the Foc genome. The above efforts facilitate a highthroughput DNA fingerprinting of Foc races that becomes very essential during plant-pathogen interaction studies and plant breeding efforts emphasized upon resistance response in chickpea genotypes.