Pathogenic and genetic variability of Ralstonia solanacearum strains from the Philippines

In the Philippines, bacterial wilt caused by Ralstonia solanacearum is one of the most important diseases affecting vegetables and banana. In this study, 89 strains of R. solanacearum isolated from various hosts were screened for their biovar, phylotype, pathogenicity, and genetic diversity. Foreign strains were included for comparison with these Philippine strains. Results of the biochemical and multiplex-PCR tests divided the Philippine strains into five biovars (1, 2, 3, 4, and N2) and three phylotypes (I, II, and IV). Three potato strains belonged to biovar N2/phylotype IV. Pathogenicity tests divided the strains into five pathogenicity types based on their virulence in tomato, potato, eggplant, sweet pepper, and tobacco. Strains classified as biovar N2 were weakly pathogenic to potato (pathogenicity type III) and almost all strains isolated from banana were not pathogenic to the test plants except potato (pathogenicity type V). The results of AFLP analysis divided the strains into four clusters. Cluster 1 was composed of strains isolated from solanaceous crops, ginger (Zingiber officinale), and Morus sp. from the Philippines and other Asian countries. Cluster 2 grouped the potato strains (biovar N2) from the Philippines and Japan and blood disease bacterium strains from Indonesia. Cluster 3 contained the local and foreign strains isolated from potato (biovar 2) and banana (biovar 1). Cluster 4 consisted only of the tomato strain from the USA.     

Molecular characterization of Ralstonia solanacearum strains from Ethiopia and tracing potential source of bacterial wilt disease outbreak in seed potatoes

Bacterial wilt, caused by Ralstonia solanacearum, is emerging as a major threat to potato production in Ethiopia, reaching epidemic proportions in the Chencha district recently, with a prevalence of 97% of potato fields in 2015. The recent disease outbreak in the district coincided with a significant introduction of seed potatoes. This research was therefore initiated to genetically characterize the pathogen so as to trace its source, identify its relationship with outbreaks in the rest of the country, and make intervention recommendations. Ralstonia solanacearum isolates were sampled both from seed and ware potato fields in Chencha and from seed potato fields in production regions suspected of being potential sources of the pathogen. Multiplex PCR and phylogenetic analysis of partial endoglucanase gene sequences identified all of the isolates as phylotype IIB sequevar 1. VNTR sequence analysis distinguished 11 different haplotypes, nine of which were unique to the Chencha district. However, one of the haplotypes was common to all seed potato producer regions of Ethiopia except for the Shashemene area. The unique and diverse VNTR haplotypes of the pathogen in Chencha indicates that it is well established in the district. When a geographical map of the VNTR haplotypes was superimposed with the main cross‐regional seed potato distribution pattern of the country, it became evident that the pathogen was being disseminated via latently infected seed from the Holeta‐Jeldu area in the Central Highlands of Ethiopia. Identification of largely uninfected highland districts and multiplication of high‐grade seed potato exclusively in those districts should be given priority.     

Ralstonia solanacearum virulence in tomato seedlings inoculated by leaf clipping

Ralstonia solanacearum is a phytopathogenic bacterium that colonizes the xylem vessels of host plants leading to a lethal wilt disease. Although several studies have investigated the virulence of R. solanacearum on adult host plants, infection studies of this pathogen on the seedling stages of hosts are less common. In a preliminary observation, inoculation of R. solanacearum F1C1 on 6‐ to 7‐day‐old tomato seedlings by a simple leaf‐clip strategy resulted in a lethal pathogenic condition in seedlings that eventually killed these seedlings within a week post‐inoculation. This prompted testing of the effect of this inoculation technique in seedlings from different cultivars of tomato and similar results were obtained. Colonization and spread of the bacteria throughout the infected seedlings was demonstrated using gus‐tagged R. solanacearum F1C1. The same method of inoculating tomato seedlings was used with R. solanacearum GMI1000 and independent mutants of R. solanacearum GMI1000, deficient in the virulence genes hrpB, hrpG, phcA and gspD. Wildtype R. solanacearum GMI1000 was found to be virulent on tomato seedlings, whereas the mutants were found to be non‐virulent. This leaf‐clip technique, for inoculation of tomato seedlings, has the potential to be a valuable approach, saving time, space, labour and costs.     

福建及贵州等地烟草青枯菌系统发育分析

[目的]探寻烟草上青枯菌的系统发育.[方法]采用演化型分类框架对福建及贵州等地的62个烟草青枯病菌株进行鉴定分析.[结果]基于内切葡聚糖酶基因系统发育学的分析结果表明:所有参试菌株均归属于青枯菌亚洲分支的4个序列变种,分别为序列变种15、17、34和44;尚未发现归属于美洲或非洲分支的烟草青枯病菌株.其中序列变种15和17为优势菌系,序列变种34的菌株都来自福建省,只发现3个菌株属于序列变种44.基于avrA基因的氨基酸序列比对结果表明4个序列变种的avrA基因都属于RS1000类型.[结论]本研究表明福建及贵州等地烟草上的青枯菌存在一定的遗传分化.     

Phylotype and sequevar variability of Ralstonia solanacearum in Brazil,an ancient centre of diversity of the pathogen

The β‐proteobacterium Ralstonia solanacearum causes bacterial wilt of many plant species. Knowledge of phylotype and sequevar variability in populations of this microorganism is useful for implementing control measures, particularly host resistance. To this end, 301 isolates of R. solanacearum were collected from different geographic regions and hosts in Brazil. Their phylotype and sequevar characterization was used to determine the amount and distribution of phenetic and phylogenetic variability. Isolates were classified into phylotypes I (n = 48), clade 1; and phylotype II, clades 2–5. Phylotype II was divided into subclusters IIA (n = 112) and IIB (n = 141). Phylotype II was widely distributed, whereas phylotype I isolates were found in Central, Northern, and Northeastern regions of Brazil. There were 108 haplotypes identified among endoglucanase (egl) gene sequences from 301 isolates and 32 haplotypes among DNA repair (mutS) gene regions from 176 isolates. The egl and mutS sequence analyses identified eight known (1, 4, 7, 18, 27, 28, 41 and 50) and four new (54, 55, 56 and 57) sequevars. Phylotype IIB showed high diversity in sequevars and host range. Multiplex PCR, using primers specific to the Moko ecotype, characterized banana and long pepper isolates as sequevar 4 and 4/NPB, respectively. This constitutes the first report of the emergent ecotype IIB/4NPB in a new host, long pepper. The majority of sequevars were associated with geographic regions. This high variability of R. solanacearum in Brazil suggests use of host resistance to control bacterial wilt should be mainly focused by region.     

Host specificity and genetic diversity of race 4 strains of Ralstonia solanacearum

Ralstonia solanacearum race 4 isolates were obtained from Zingiberaceae plants in India during bacterial wilt outbreaks. Polyphasic phenotypic and genotypic analysis revealed intraracial diversity and dominance of biovar 3 over biovar 4. Biovar 3 strains were isolated from very severely wilted Zingiberaceae plants in the field and found to be present across diverse geographical, host and seasonal boundaries. It was hypothesized that these isolates belong to a single, ‘fast wilting’, lineage. Using one ‘fast wilting’ isolate in controlled inoculations, rapid wilt was observed in ginger within 5–7 days. Wilting was also observed in several other closely and distantly related hosts such as turmeric (Curcuma longa), aromatic turmeric (Curcuma aromatica), black turmeric (Curcuma caesia), sand ginger (Kaempferia galanga), white turmeric (Curcuma zeodaria), awapuhi (Zingiber zerumbet), greater galangal (Alpinia galanga), globba (Globba sp.), small cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum) and large cardamom (Ammomum subulatum) of the Zingiberaceae family, and in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum). Molecular analysis, including multiplex PCR‐based phylotyping, sequence analysis of 16S rDNA, 16–23S intergenic spacer and the recN gene, and multilocus sequence typing, revealed minimal differences between fast wilting isolates, confirming that almost all belong to the same lineage. Biovar 4 was isolated from plants showing slow wilt progression and self‐limiting wilting in restricted geographical locations instead, and was identified to be genetically distinct from the fast wilting biovar 3 isolates. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of host range and genetic analysis of R. solanacearum race 4 in India.     

福建青枯雷尔氏菌的遗传多样性及其生防放线菌的筛选

为了明确福建青枯雷尔氏菌（简称青枯菌）的遗传多样性,综合菌株的演化型、生化型及基于内源葡聚糖酶基因egl的序列变种鉴定,对福建省8个地区的番茄、辣椒和茄子寄主分离的56株青枯菌进行分析。结果表明：供试的56株青枯菌均属于演化型Ⅰ;53株为生化型Ⅲ（占94.64%）,1株为生化型Ⅱ,2株为非标准生化型;从序列变种来看,4株来自茄子的青枯菌均属序列变种15,24株来自辣椒的青枯菌中,23株属于序列变种14,1株为序列变种16,28株番茄青枯菌鉴定出7个序列变种。进一步,选择上述鉴定的生化型Ⅲ和生化型Ⅱ的代表菌株为靶标菌进行生防菌筛选。结果表明,供试14株放线菌中,筛选到1株对生化Ⅲ青枯菌有拮抗作用的放线菌FJAT-31535。基于菌落形态特征和16S rRNA基因序列相似性分析,菌株FJAT-31535属于链霉菌属（Streptomyces sp.）。     

Alteration of gene expression profile in the roots of wild diploid Arachis duranensis inoculated with Ralstonia solanacearum

Bacterial wilt caused by Ralstonia solanacearum is a serious disease of peanut (Arachis hypogaea) in China. However, the molecular basis of peanut resistance to R. solanacearum is poorly understood. Arachis duranensis, a wild diploid species of the genus Arachis, has been proven to be resistant to bacterial wilt, and thus holds valuable potential for understanding the mechanism of resistance to bacterial wilt and genetic improvement of peanut disease resistance. Here, suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) and macroarray hybridization were employed to detect differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the roots of A. duranensis after R. solanacearum inoculation. A total of 317 unique genes were obtained, 265 of which had homologues and functional annotations. KEGG analysis revealed that a large proportion of these unigenes are mainly involved in the biosynthesis of phytoalexins, particularly in the biosynthetic pathways of terpenoids and flavonoids. Subsequent real‐time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis showed that the terpenoid and flavonoid synthesis‐related genes showed higher expression levels in a resistant genotype of A. duranensis than in a susceptible genotype, indicating that the terpenoids and flavonoids probably played a fundamental role in the resistance of A. duranensis to R. solanacearum. This study provides an overview of the gene expression profile in the roots of wild Arachis species in response to R. solanacearum infection. Moreover, the related candidate genes are also valuable for the further study of the molecular mechanisms of resistance to R. solanacearum.     

A quantitative hybridization approach using 17 DNA markers for identification and clustering analysis of Ralstonia solanacearum

Ralstonia solanacearum (Rs) is a quarantine phytopathogenic bacterium accountable for heavy economic losses worldwide. Monitoring and eradication programmes required for this pathogen are dependent on the availability of time‐ and cost‐efficient detection and typing methods. However, members of the Rs species complex are characterized by a high phenotypic and genetic diversity, which requires improved diagnostics methods. The currently available full genome sequences of several Rs strains allow for the selection of novel specific DNA markers using comparative genomics tools. In this work, 17 novel markers were selected based on Rs‐specific protein domains and thoroughly validated for specificity and stability, both in silico and using ‘wet lab’ assays. Polymerase chain reaction‐ and hybridization‐based validation assays revealed that the DNA regions selected as markers were unevenly distributed amongst the tested strains, with nine markers present throughout the species complex. The distribution of the remaining eight markers was highly variable between the different analysed strains and enabled the attainment of strain‐specific dot blot hybridization patterns, particularly informative for typing. The average probability value of each strain being positive for each of the 17 markers was calculated by an algorithm and used to obtain a dendrogram representing hierarchical clustering analysis of Rs, according to the similarity of their hybridization patterns. This method should prove to be a robust and straightforward procedure for genotyping members of the Rs species complex. Furthermore, this quantitative hybridization approach will allow the construction of informative databases to determine new Rs genotypes and infer epidemiological patterns.     

Factors affecting the virulence of Ralstonia solanacearum and its colonization on tobacco roots

Tobacco bacterial wilt caused by Ralstonia solanacearum is a serious disease affecting tobacco cultivation in southwest China. The response surface methodology was employed to evaluate the optimal conditions of tobacco bacterial wilt, and green fluorescent protein gene (gfp) labelling was applied to monitor the location and survival dynamics of R. solanacearum (Rs::gfp) on tobacco roots and in soil under these optimal conditions. The results showed that the highest wilt incidence was 91.13%, which occurred when the population reached 6.6 × 10⁶ CFU/g soil, the temperature was 30.55 °C, and the humidity was >81.42%. The Rs::gfp densely colonized the root tips and root hairs, and cells of Rs::gfp were observed intermittently in the elongation zone or at the point of the emerging lateral roots. The Rs::gfp number in the rhizosphere soil was 10.75‐, 73.13‐ and 74.86‐times higher than that in the bulk soil at 10, 15 and 20 days after transplantation, respectively. Increased colonization by Rs::gfp was related to the population of the pathogen, the environmental temperature and the humidity in the soil. These three conditions determined whether R. solanacearum would induce tobacco wilt. This is the first study to investigate factors affecting the virulence of a tobacco wilt bacterial pathogen, which is important for conducting field diagnosis and biocontrol of tobacco bacterial wilt.     

Involvement of a vascular hypersensitive response in quantitative resistance to Ralstonia solanacearum on tomato rootstock cultivar LS‐89

Ralstonia solanacearum causes bacterial wilt disease in Solanaceae spp. Expression of the Phytophthora inhibitor protease 1 (PIP1) gene, which encodes a papain‐like extracellular cysteine protease, is induced in R. solanacearum‐inoculated stem tissues of quantitatively resistant tomato cultivar LS‐89, but not in susceptible cultivar Ponderosa. Phytophthora inhibitor protease 1 is closely related to Rcr3, which is required for the Cf‐2‐mediated hypersensitive response (HR) to the leaf mould fungus Cladosporium fulvum and manifestation of HR cell death. However, up‐regulation of PIP1 in R. solanacearum‐inoculated LS‐89 stems was not accompanied by visible HR cell death. Nevertheless, upon electron microscopic examination of inoculated stem tissues of resistant cultivar LS‐89, several aggregated materials associated with HR cell death were observed in xylem parenchyma and pith cells surrounding xylem vessels. In addition, the accumulation of electron‐dense substances was observed within the xylem vessel lumen of inoculated stems. Moreover, when the leaves of LS‐89 or Ponderosa were infiltrated with 10⁶ cells mL^?1 R. solanacearum, cell death appeared in LS‐89 at 18 and 24 h after infiltration. The proliferation of bacteria in the infiltrated leaf tissues of LS‐89 was suppressed to approximately 10–30% of that in Ponderosa, and expression of the defence‐related gene PR‐2 and HR marker gene hsr203J was induced in the infiltrated tissues. These results indicated that the response of LS‐89 is a true HR, and induction of vascular HR in xylem parenchyma and pith cells surrounding xylem vessels seems to be associated with quantitative resistance of LS‐89 to R. solanacearum.     

Phylogenetic and pathogenic variability of strains of Ralstonia solanacearum causing moko disease in Colombia

Moko disease, caused by the bacterium Ralstonia solanacearum, is one of the most devastating diseases of Musa spp. in Colombia, where banana and plantain are major crops. The disease epidemiology is poorly understood and little is known about the diversity of the bacterial populations associated with this disease. This study assessed the diversity, phylogenetic relationship and pathogenicity of R. solanacearum strains associated with moko disease in Colombia. For this, the genetic diversity of 65 isolates obtained from four banana/plantain-growing regions was evaluated by using multiplex PCR and analysing the partial sequences of the mutS, rplB and egl genes. These analyses revealed that all the strains belonged to the R. solanacearum phylotype II, sequevars 4 and 6. In addition, the phylogenetic analysis assorted the strains into three subgroups, which matched the region of isolation: (i) central region (i.e. Eastern plains and Andes, IIB/4); (ii) northwest (i.e. Urabá and a few strains from Magdalena, IIB/4); and (iii) north coast (Magdalena and a few strains from Urabá, IIA/6). In addition, this evolutionary pattern was associated with pathogenicity, as 63 of the 65 isolates caused wilting of banana and plantain plants under greenhouse conditions, whilst only 32, those isolated from the central region, caused such symptoms in tomato plants. In conclusion, this study shows that banana and plantain crops in Colombia foster genetically diverse strains of R. solanacearum that belong to at least three different genetic groups, which show biogeographic and host range association.     

Diversity of Ralstonia solanacearum causing potato bacterial wilt in Iran and the first record of phylotype II/biovar 2T strains outside South America

The diversity of 40 strains of Ralstonia solanacearum causing bacterial wilt of potato in the major potato-growing areas of Iran was assessed. Based on rep-PCR genomic fingerprinting, strains fell into two distinct groups. The first group contained 37 of the 40 strains and the second consisted of three strains from a narrow tropical region in Iran. The three strains from the narrow tropical region were found to be phenotypically and genotypically most similar to R. solanacearum biovar 2T strains, whereas all other strains were phenotypically and genotypically identified as being R. solanacearum biovar 2/race 3. Phylogenetic analysis of endoglucanase gene sequence information of two of the strains from the tropical region revealed that they belonged to phylotype II of the R. solanacearum species complex and had 100% sequence similarity to a biovar 2T strain from potato in Peru. This is the first report of the presence of R. solanacearum phylotype II/biovar 2T in Iran and the first report of the existence of this group of R. solanacearum outside South America.     

Phylogenetic relationships of Ralstonia solanacearum species complex strains from Asia and other continents based on 16S rDNA, endoglucanase, and hrpB gene sequences

The 16S rDNA, endoglucanase, and hrpB genes were partially sequenced for Asian strains of Ralstonia solanacearum spp. complex, including 31 strains of R. solanacearum and two strains each of the blood disease bacterium (BDB) and Pseudomonas syzygii. Additional sequences homologous to these DNA regions, deposited at DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank databases were included in the analysis. Various levels of polymorphisms were observed in each of these DNA regions. The highest polymorphism (approximately 25%) was found in the endoglucanase gene sequence. The hrpB sequence had about 22% poly-morphism. The phylogenetic analysis consistently divided the strains into four clusters, as distinctly shown on the phylogenetic trees of 16S rDNA, hrpB gene, and endo-glucanase gene sequences. Cluster 1 contained all strains from Asia, which belong to biovars 3, 4, 5, and N2. Cluster 2 comprised the Asian strains of R. solanacearum (as biovars N2 and 1) isolated from potato and clove, as well as BDB and P. syzygii. Cluster 3 contained race 3 biovar 2 strains from potato, race 2 biovar 1 strains from banana, and race 1 biovar 1 strains isolated from America, Asia, and other parts of the world. Cluster 4 was exclusively composed of African strains. The results of the study showed the distribution and diversity of the Asian strains, which are present in three of the four clusters. The similarity of Asian strains to those in the other regions was also observed.The nucleotide sequence data reported are available in the DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank databases under accession numbers AY464950 to AY465050     

崂山常见中药材提取物对烟草青枯病菌的抑制作用

以烟草青枯病菌Ralstonia solanacearum为病原指示菌,从艾叶Artemisiae argyi等40种崂山常见中药材95%乙醇提取液中筛选对其具有明显抑制作用的活性物质。结果表明,32种(80%)药材提取物显示出不同程度的抑菌作用,其中公丁香Syzygium aromaticum提取物抑菌活性最强,其抑菌圈直径达19.53 mm。采用气相色谱-质谱(GC-MS)联用法分析鉴定了公丁香提取物中12种化学组分,其中相对含量最高的丁香酚(40.43%)抑菌活性最强,抑菌圈直径达18.50 mm,处理6 h对病菌的抑制中质量浓度(EC₅₀)值为0.0292 mg/mL。本研究表明崂山地区抑菌植物具有丰富的多样性,公丁香提取物中活性成分丁香酚具有防治烟草青枯病的良好应用潜力。     

我国植物青枯菌菌株的遗传多样性和组群划分

 采用15条随机引物对我国11个省(市、区)6种不同寄主植物的43个青枯菌代表性菌株和4个国外青枯菌菌株,进行了PCR扩增.引物OPB11、OPA15、OPE1和OPZ10对上述所有菌株扩增获得了相似的产物电泳图谱,分别具1~5条谱带不等;引物OPB7、OPA10和OPF1对马铃薯菌株获得了相同的产物图谱,但对其它寄主菌株的产物间有明显差别;引物OPA14、OPC,6、OPG14、OPF5、OPK14、OPK20和OPK17对于不同菌株的扩增产物多态性很强.供试菌株被聚类为2个组群,即组群A和组群B.组群A中又可分为7个亚组(A1、A2、A3、A4、A5、A6、A7),其中A1含有2个类型(A1-1、A1-2);组群B中也可分为2个亚组(B1、B2),其中B1含有3个类型(B1-1、B1-2、B1-3),B2也含有3个类型(B2-1、B2-2、B2-3).RAPD组群A中包含了27个来自我国不同地区的马铃薯菌株,主要是3号小种、生化变种2;组群B中含有20个来自不同地区、不同寄主的菌株,分属于其它不同的小种和生化变种.研究结果表明,我国青枯菌菌株RAPD组群的划分与菌株的地理来源关系不大,而与寄主来源有明显相关性.此外,通过对我国青枯菌菌株组群进行同源性PCR分析表明,来源自马铃薯的3号小种菌株属于美洲分支"Americanmm",而来自其它寄主的青枯菌1号、5号小种菌株属于亚洲分支"Asiaticum",与本研究RAPD组群A和组群B的划分是一致的.     

广东茄科青枯菌致病力分化及其DNA多态性分析

 分别采自广州、增城、东莞、花都、三水、清远、电白、高要8个菜区的番茄、茄子和辣椒上的31个青枯病菌株,经人工接种于10个鉴别寄主植物上,结果表明,它们的致病力存在明显的差异。聚类分析这31个菌株,可以聚为3个组:第I组菌株主要来自种植番茄和茄子历史较长的广州、东莞、增城老菜区,其致病力较强;第Ⅱ组菌株主要分离自茄子和辣椒上,其致病力中等;第Ⅲ组菌株主要来自近年来新发展的三水市各番茄产区,它们的致病力较弱。从200个随机引物中筛选出17个引物用于上述31个菌株DNA的RAPD分析,共扩增出523条带,其中468条为多态性带,占89.5%。聚类分析这31个菌株,又可聚为4个簇群:第I簇群主要分离自已推广种植多年的丰顺、金丰等抗病番茄品种上;第Ⅱ簇群分离自抗病的番茄新品种新星、年丰和石碣紫红茄上;第IV簇群主要分离自辣椒和茄子;而第Ⅲ簇群来源包括番茄、茄子和辣椒这3种寄主植物。上述试验结果说明,广东茄科青枯菌的致病力存在明显的分化现象,其DNA存在较高的遗传多样性。     

Molecular identification of some African strains of Ralstonia solanacearum from eucalypt and potato

Ralstonia solanacearum is a known bacterial pathogen of eucalypt and potato plants in Africa. A survey was undertaken to detect this pathogen in eucalypt plantations in South Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Uganda. Numerous bacterial strains were isolated from trees with symptoms typical of bacterial wilt, but only seven were positively identified as R. solanacearum. A polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) technique, based on the hrp (hypersensitive response and pathogenicity) gene region was used to determine and group the biovars of these R. solanacearum strains. The eucalypt isolates and one potato isolate formed a biovar 3 cluster, whereas the two other potato isolates formed a cluster that corresponded to biovar 2. Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analysis confirmed these clusters. Therefore, PCR-RFLP can be used as a reliable diagnostic technique to enable researchers to rapidly identify the pathogen.     

Genotypic variation and population structure of Sclerotinia trifoliorum infecting chickpea in California

Sclerotinia trifoliorum, an important pathogen of cool season legumes, displays both homothallism and heterothallism in its life cycle, unique among members of the genus Sclerotinia. Very little is known about its genetic diversity and population structure. A sample of 129 isolates of S. trifoliorum from diseased chickpea in California was investigated for genetic diversity, population differentiation and reproductive mode. Genetic diversity was estimated using mycelial compatibility (MCG) phenotypes, rDNA intron variation, and allelic diversity at seven microsatellite loci. Genetic analysis revealed high levels of genotypic diversity demonstrated by high genotypic richness (0·88). Similarly, high levels of gene diversity (mean expected heterozygosity H_E = 0·68) were observed at the microsatellite loci. Geographic populations of S. trifoliorum were highly admixed as evident from low F_ST values (0–0·11), suggesting high contemporary or historical gene flow. Hierarchical analysis of molecular variance showed that more than 92% of the genetic variation occurred among isolates within populations. Bayesian clustering analysis identified four cryptic genetic populations that were not correlated to geographic location, and index of multilocus association was non‐significant in each of the four genetic populations. However, the presence of identical haplotypes within and among populations indicates clonal reproduction. The high levels of haplotype diversity and population heterogeneity, a lack of correspondence between MCG and microsatellite haplotype, and low levels of population differentiation suggest that populations of S. trifoliorum in chickpea have been undergoing extensive outcrossing and migration events probably shaped by human‐mediated dissemination, the underlying diverse cropping systems, and chickpea disease management practices.