DISTRIBUTION OF RETROTRANSPOSON MAGGY IN PYRICULARIA SPECIES

Authors: TOSA, YUKIO - KOCHI UNIVERSITY; NAKAYASHIKI, HITOSHI - KOCHI UNIVERSITY; HYODO, HIDEYUKI - KOCHI UNIVERSITY; MAYAMA, SHIGEYUKI - KOCHI UNIVERSITY; KATO, HAJIME - KOCHI UNIVERSITY; Leong, Sally

Submitted to: Annals of the Phytopathological Society of Japan
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/17/1995
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: We had previously identified a segment of one of the chromosomes of the rice blast fungus that had similar characteristics to "moveable" DNA segments that have been found in other organisms. This paper describes the distribution of this moveable DNA segment of "transposon", in cultures of the rice blast fungus isolated from diseased rice plants and various grasses. It was found that the transposon was only present in cultures of the fungus isolated from rice, foxtail millet and green bristlegrass. The chromosomes of these cultures were found to contain many copies of the transposon. In contrast, cultures from wheat, finger millet, goosegrass, crabgrass, Digitaria, and mioga did not contain the transposon. These findings, when considered along with information on the host ranges and sexual compatibility of the various isolates, indicated that the isolates from rice, foxtail millet and green bristlegrass may be closely related.

Technical Abstract: Distribution of retrotransposon MAGGY in Pyricularia species isolated from various monocot plants was investigated. MAGGY was present in a high copy number in isolates from rice, foxtail millet, and green bristlegrass, but absent in those from wheat, finger millet, goosegrass, crabgrass, Digitaria horizontaris, and mioga. These results suggest that isolates from rice are phylogenetically close to those from foxtail millet, and support an idea that isolates from foxtail millet, a cultivated species of genus Setaria, are related to those from green bristlegrass, a wild species of the same genus.