Utility of internally transcribed spacer region of rDNA (ITS) and β-tubulin gene sequences to infer genetic diversity and migration patterns of Colletotrichum truncatum infecting Capsicum spp.

Anthracnose is among the most economically important diseases affecting pepper (Capsicum spp.) production in the tropics and subtropics. Of the three species of Colletotrichum implicated as causal agents of pepper anthracnose, C. truncatum is considered to be the most destructive in agro-ecosystems worldwide. However, the genetic variation and the migration potential of C. truncatum infecting pepper are not known. Five populations were selected for study and a two-locus (internally transcribed spacer region, ITS1-5.8S-ITS2, and β-tubulin, β-TUB) sequence data set was generated and used in the analyses. Sequences of the ITS region were less informative than β-tubulin gene sequences based on comparisons of DNA polymorphism indices. Trinidad had the highest genetic diversity and also had the largest effective population size in pairwise comparisons with the other populations. The Trinidad population also demonstrated significant genetic differentiation from the other populations. AMOVA and...