ERIC and REP-PCR Banding Patterns and Sequence Analysis of the Internal Transcribed Spacer of RDNA of Stemphylium Solani Isolates from Cotton

The genetic diversity of the Stemphylium solani isolates from cotton was assessed by Enterobacterial Repetitive Intergenic Consensus (ERIC) and Repetitive Extragenic Palindromes (REP)-PCR fingerprinting. Twenty eight monosporic isolates of S. solani from cotton were used along with five isolates from tomato and one isolate of Alternaria macrospora from cotton for comparison. The dendrogram obtained revealed clear differences between the cotton and tomato isolates as well as between the tomato isolates from different geographic regions. The genetic relationships among S. solani isolates were also analyzed by sequencing the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of four isolates representing the three ERIC and REP groups. The tomato isolate from the State of São Paulo showed a distinct ITS sequence from that of the cotton isolates and tomato isolate from the State of Goiás, giving evidence that it belongs to a different genotype of S. solani. This is the first report of the entire sequence of the ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 regions of S. solani.