Spatial pattern of genetic diversity in field populations of Fusarium incarnatum-equiseti species complex

Fusarium is associated with a number of wilt, blight, scab and rot diseases in a range of economically important staple food crops worldwide. An assessment of the genetic structure and population stratification of Fusarium incarnatum-equiseti species complex (FIESC) pathogen populations is important to understand the evolutionary potential of such populations in adapting to environmental change. Based on inter-simple sequence repeat polymerase chain reaction (ISSR-PCR), it was found that the pathogen population was structured into three genetic clusters for which genetic differentiation was higher within than among populations. There was high intra-population genetic diversity for population 1 (94.63%) which consisted largely of isolates collected from North Trinidad. Populations 2 and 3 had a low level of admixture among the populations based on overall population differentiation. Population 1 accounted for the highest amount of genetic variation (95.82%) followed by populations 2 and 3. Population stratification was reflected in the dendrogram topology, which consisted of three main genetic clusters and which coincided with the outcome of Bayesian and PCoA analyses. The populations were isolated by distance and Voronoi tessellations indicated physical or structural barriers to gene flow which contributed to restricted admixture between two of three populations. These findings suggest a high evolutionary potential for this FIESC pathogen population, the implications of which directly affect disease management strategies.For Population Genetics Analyses using GenAlEx 6.5 software as an add-in in Excel, there are 2 .xlsx files: 1) PCoA - principle components analysis: this is the datasheet that was prepared using the ISSR binary matrix. Specifically datasheet "PCoA-dist std" applies - Principle components analysis using genetic distance 2) Mantels test of isolation by distance: this is the datasheet that was prepared for estimating Mantel's test. Specifiically the datasheet "GGDvGD MT (2)" applies - Genetic geographic distance by genetic distance Mantel's test All column and datasheet abbreviations can be found in the GenAlEx 6.5 software manual using the link below: https://biology-assets.anu.edu.au/GenAlEx/Download_files/GenAlEx%206.5%20Guide.pdf Funding provided by: University of the West Indies, St. Augustine CampusCrossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100009738Award Number: CRP.3.MAR16.12This data was analyzed using a number of different population genetics and phylogenetic software including GenAlEx, STRUCTURE and STRUCTURE HARVESTER, POPGENE, POPS, TESS, PAST4 and MEG