The wheat stem rust pathogen in the central region of the Russian Federation

A total of 387 isolates of Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici (Pgt) collected in the central region of the Russian Federation from 2000 to 2009 was analysed with North American differential sets comprising 16 genotypes for samples of 2000–2006 and 20 genotypes for samples from 2007–2009. Forty‐five races were identified. The race composition of the local population underwent changes during this period. Race MKBT was the predominant race in the earlier years, but TKNT and TKNTF were in the majority later. During 2000–2009 there were no stem rust epidemics in the region. It was assumed that the local pathogen population cycled on wild grasses (including Elytrigia, Agropyron, Festuca, Dactylis, Phleum and Lolium spp.) and not only on wheat. The existence of host communities of wheat stem rust was supported by random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers produced with high‐GC primers. The local population of Pgt was considered to be sexual based on the relatively high diversity of races isolated from various hosts and the absence of correlation between virulence attributes and molecular markers.