Characterization of a group I intron in the nuclera rDNA differentiatingPhialophora gregata f. sp.adzukicola fromP. gregata f. sp.sojae

An insertion sequence was detected near the 3′ end of the nuclear small subunit rDNA in isolates ofPhialophora gregata f. sp.adzukicola, the causal agent of the brown stem rot disease of adzuki bean. This insertion sequence was absent in isolates ofP. gregata, f. sp.sojae which causes brown stem rot of soybean. The insertion sequence is 304 bp long and contains all the characteristics of group I introns. These characteristics include, the four conserved sequence elements (P, Q, R, and S), a U at the 5′ splice site of the exon, a G at the 3′ splice site of the intron, a putative internal guiding sequences; the sequence also fits a secondary structure model for group I introns. Similar to most group I introns found in nuclear small subunit rDNA, the intron was located in a highly conserved region and is devoid of long open reading frames. This intron provides a convenient marker for use in conventional PCR to separateP. gregata f. sp.adzukicola fromP. gregata f. sp.sojae.