Analysis of genetic diversity amongst Fusarium spp. Associated with root rot of apple

Abstract

The Genus Fusarium is associated with crop diseases of horticultural and agricultural commodities and is considered to be a destructive pathogen. Genetic diversity among ten different isolates of Fusarium species isolated from apple rhizosphere from different locations of Himachal Pradesh was analysed using Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD-PCR). Molecular characterization using ITS sequencing revealed that out of 10 isolates of Fusarium, three belongs to F. oxysporum, two belongs to F. solani, one belongs to F. equiseti and four were Fusarium species. Seven random primers were used for their genetic characterization using RAPD analysis. The dendrogram obtained from the UPGMA study characterized ten isolates into one main cluster and nine independent branches on the basis of similarity value 0.65.