M. Mirtalebi - Department of Plant Protection, College of Agriculture, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Islamic Republic of Iran.
Z. Banihashemi - Department of Plant Protection, College of Agriculture, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Islamic Republic of Iran.

Fusarium wilt of melon is a destructive fungal disease throughout the world. In this study, the evolutionary relationships among isolates of different formae speciales of Fusarium oxysporum was examined, with a special emphasis on the forma specialis melonis. Bootstrapped maximum likelihood analysis of the elongation factor-۱α (EF-۱α) sequence was conducted on ۱۶ Iranian and ۱۱ foreign isolates of F. o. melonis that included representatives of different vegetative compatibility groups (VCGs ۰۱۳۰-۰۱۳۶). The tree inferred from the dataset resolved five evolutionary lineages that were correlated with the F. o. melonis VCGs, with the exception of VCGs ۰۱۳۰ and ۰۱۳۱, which could not be differentiated with EF-۱α sequences. Furthermore, based on EF-۱α sequences, specific associations were found between F. o. melonis VCGs and the other formae speciales whose sequences were obtained from the GenBank. Taken together, these results support a polyphyletic origin for F. o. melonis, meaning that the ability of this forma specialis to cause disease on melon has emerged multiple times.

Cucumis melo, Iran, Polyphyletic, VCG