Genetic variability of sorghum charcoal rot pathogen (Macrophomina phaseolina) assessed by random DNA markers

Genetic diversity among selected isolates of Macrophomina phaseolina, a causal agent of charcoal rot (stalk rot) disease in sorghum was studied using PCR-RAPD markers. A set of ten isolates, from ten different rabi sorghum genotypes representing two traditional sorghum growing situations viz., Dharwad- a transitional high rainfall region and Bijapur- a semi-arid low rainfall region in South India. From a set of 40 random primers tested, amplicon profiles of 15 were reproducible. A total of 149 amplicon levels, with an average of 9.9 bands per primer, were available for analysis, of which 148 were polymorphic (99.3 %). It was possible to discriminate all the isolates with any of the 15 primers employed. UPGMA clustering of data indicated that the isolates shared varied levels of genetic similarity within a range of 0.14 to 0.72 similarity coefficient index and it was suggestive that grouping of isolates was not related to sampling location in anyway. A high level of genetic heterogeneity of 0.28 was recorded among the isolates.