RAPD Characterization of Fusarium oxysporum Isolates Pathogenic on Argyranthemum frutescens L.

The random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) technique was used to analyse total genomic DNA of 10 isolates of a new Fusarium oxysporum pathogenic on Argyranthemum frutescens (Paris daisy), by comparing them with representatives of the formae speciales basilici, chrysanthemi, cyclaminis, dianthi, gladioli, lilii, lycopersici, melonis, pisi, radicis‐lycopersici, tracheiphilum, and a non‐pathogenic isolate of F. oxysporum. A close genetic relatedness was observed among most of the new isolates from A. frutescens. These isolates also shared RAPD markers with the tested representatives of the forma specialis chrysanthemi. A single isolate among those tested from diseased A. frutescens was placed in a different cluster, which included representative isolates of forma specialis tracheiphilum. All the new isolates from A. frutescens, with the exception of the single divergent one, could be identified by their characteristic amplification profile, using selected random primers. A rapid protocol for DNA extraction directly from fungal colonies grown on Fusarium selective medium allowed the complete analysis in less than 4 h.