Nucleotide polymorphisms in three genes support host and geographic speciation in tree pathogens belonging toGremmeniellaspp.

Abstract

We detected nucleotide polymorphisms within the genus Gremmeniella in DNA sequences of β-tubulin, glyceraldehyde phosphate dehydrogenase, and mitochondrial small subunit rRNA (mtSSU rRNA) genes. A group-I intron was present in strains originating from fir (Abies spp.) in the mtSSU rRNA locus. This intron in the mtSSU rRNA locus of strains isolated from Abies sachalinensis (Fridr. Schmidt) M.T. Mast in Asia was also found in strains isolated from Abies balsamea (L.) Mill. in North America. Phylogenetic analyses yielded trees that grouped strains by host of origin with strong branch support. Asian strains of Gremmeniella abietina (Lagerberg) Morelet var. abietina isolated from fir (A. sachalinensis) were more closely related to G. abietina var. balsamea from North America, which is found on spruce (Picea spp.) and balsam fir, and European and North American races of G. abietina var. abietina from pines (Pinus spp.) were distantly related. Likewise, North American isolates of Gremmeniella laricina (Ettinger) O. Petrini, L.E. Petrini, G. Laflamme, & G.B. Ouellette, a pathogen of larch, was more closely related to G. laricina from Europe than to G. abietina var. abietina from North America. These data suggest that host specialization might have been the leading evolutionary force shaping Gremmeniella spp., with geographic separation acting as a secondary factor.Key words: Gremmeniella, geographic separation, host specialization, mitochondrial rRNA, nuclear genes.