Abstract

Three evolutionary lineages of the tomato wilt pathogen Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici were found among a worldwide sample of isolates based on phylogenetic analysis of the ribosomal DNA intergenic spacer region. Each lineage consisted of isolates mainly belonging to a single or closely related vegetative compatibility group (VCG) and a single mating type (MAT). The first lineage (A1) was composed of isolates VCG 0031 and MAT1-1; the second (A2) included VCG 0030 and/or 0032 and MAT1-1; and the third (A3) included VCG 0033 and MAT1-2. Race 1 and race 2 isolates belonged to the A1 or A2 lineages, and race 3 belonged to A2 or A3 lineages, suggesting that there is no correlation between race and lineage. However, for the isolates from Japan, race 1 (with one exception), race 2, and race 3 isolates belonged to A2, A1, and A3 lineages, respectively. These results suggest that the races could have evolved independently in each lineage; and in Japan the present races were likely to have been introduced independently after they had evolved in other locations.
*RIKEN