Genetic structure and population diversity in the wheat sharp eyespot pathogen Rhizoctonia cerealis in the Willamette Valley,Oregon, USA

Wheat sharp eyespot, caused by the soilborne basidiomycete fungus Rhizoctonia cerealis group D subgroup I (AG-DI), is a common disease of wheat stems that has increased in global importance in recent years. The disease caused a severe and extensive epidemic throughout the Willamette Valley of Oregon in 2014 and has remained one of the most important wheat diseases in this region subsequently. The population structure of this pathogen is still not well understood. In this study, 572 pure cultures of R. cerealis AG-DI were isolated from five commercial fields and two experimental fields in the Willamette Valley, Oregon, in the spring of 2017 and 2018. Population structure studies were conducted using six microsatellite markers. Polymorphisms were observed at all six loci, and all seven subpopulations showed moderate gene and genotype diversity. Most of the loci were in Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium in the subpopulations, the entire population combined over locations and five of seven subpopulations were in gametic equilibrium, and the AMOVA and Mantel’s test demonstrated no differentiation among subpopulations. Though direct evidence is currently lacking, these results suggest that the sexual stage of the pathogen may be having a significant impact on pathogen population structure, and that the presence of basidiospores could be contributing to the extensive spread of this disease in the Willamette Valley in recent years.