The Alternaria brown spot (ABS) is a disease caused in tangerine plants and its hybrids by the fungusAlternaria alternata f. sp. citri which has been found in Brazil since 2001. Due to the recent occurrence in Brazilian orchards, the epidemiology and genetic variability of this pathogen is still an issue to be addressed. Here it is presented a survey about the genetic variability of this fungus by the characterization of twenty four pathogenic isolates of A. alternata f. sp. citri from citrus plants and four endophytic isolates from mango (one Alternaria tenuissima and three Alternaria arborescens). The application of two molecular markers Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) had revealed the isolates clustering in distinct groups when fingerprintings were analyzed by Principal Components Analysis (PCA). Despite the better assessment of the genetic variability through the AFLP, significant modifications in clusters components were not observed, and only slight shifts in the positioning of isolates LRS 39/3 and 25M were observed in PCA plots. Furthermore, in both analyses, only the isolates from lemon plants revealed to be clustered, differently from the absence of clustering for other hosts or plant tissues. Summarizing, both RAPD and AFLP analyses were both efficient to detect the genetic variability within the population of the pathogenic fungus Alternaria spp., supplying information on the genetic variability of this species as a basis for further studies aiming the disease control.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.