Population genetic structure of Colletotrichum fructicola from oil-tea and other host plants in Hainan province

Objective: The population genetic structure genetic diversity and the geographical distribution of haplotype patterns of Colletotrichum fructicola from Oil-tea and other host plants in Hainan province were analysised to explore the molecular genetic variation pattern of the pathogen in different hosts.Method: C.fructicola associated with anthracnose diseases of oil-tea and other native plants were isolated using single spore isolation and confirmed by DNA sequencing of the partial sequences of rDNA-ITS, CAL and GAPDH region. GenALEx6, DnaSP 5.0, TCS1.21 and MEGA6.0 software was used to analyze the data of ITS-CAL-GAPDH sequences.Result: A total of 108 strains was isolated, and 18 haplotypes were identified. The most common sequence type, haplotype 11, was found in 70 samples and distributed across all populations. AMOVA test showed that 3% of genetic differentiation occurred among populations and 97% within population. There was a very low genetic divergence in Fst and Nm values among the populations and the high level of gene flow was among populations. There existed genetic recombination among some populations of C. fructicola from Oil-tea camellia and the other host plants. Conclusion: Results of this research illustrates that there exists high degree of genetic intermixing among natural populations of C. fructicola. Our study provides a foundation that a more holistic approach would be needed to take into account of the life histories of different hosts in order to develop effective strategies for controlling anthracnose.