Phylogenetic structure of T. harzianum s. l. from some climates of Iran

Document Type : Research Paper

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Abstract

Strains of Trichoderma harzianum s. l. have a great importance because of affecting mankind by being used as biological control agents against plant pathogens. In the present study, we planned to characterize the phylogenetic structure of T. harzianum recovered from different geographical origins and various habitats in some climates of Iran (NC, SCD, CSW). In order to screen 239 collected Trichoderma isolates, the strains were pre-screened by RAPD-PCR, and representatives were selected for sequencing of ITS1-5.8 s-ITS2 genomic region. Totally, 176 T. harzianum isolates were obtained. Fourteen phylotypes were found as a result of maximum parsimony analysis of 76 ITS1 and ITS2 sequences related to T. harzianum, including one single-member phylotype representing a novel ITS allele for T. harzianum, endemic to Iran. Finding a unique ITS allele of T. harzainum in climate CSW may be an indicative of the effective role of this kind of climatic conditions on arising this new ITS allele.

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