In recent years, crown and root rot of strawberry (
Fragaria×ananassa
Duchesne ex Rozier) caused by
Macrophomina phaseolina (Tassi) Goid. has affected strawberry
production areas worldwide, and in developed countries
its emergency has been attributed to the replacement of
methyl bromide. The disease was reported in strawberry
crop in Chile in 2013, in fields without fumigation. The
use of resistant cultivars rises as an alternative to the
management of this disease. The objective of this study
was to perform a biological and molecular characterization
of isolates obtained from two growing regions in Chile
and Spain. A total of 35 isolates were characterized
for mycelial growth at different temperatures and for
chlorate sensitivity. Seven simple sequence repeat loci
were used for genetic characterization. Differences were
found between Chilean and Spanish isolates in both
characterizations. The optimal temperature for mycelial
growth was lower in Chilean than in Spanish isolates (30
and 35 °C, respectively). Meanwhile, Chilean isolates
were more sensitive to chlorate. In terms of genetic
characterization, Polymorphism Information Content (PIC)
ranged from 0.38 to 0.85, two main groups were identified,
the first group included Spanish isolates and the second
group corresponded to Chilean isolates, results were
supported by a population structure analysis. This study
determined clear differences between two populations
of Chilean and Spanish
M. phaseolina isolates as causal
agent of crown and root rot of strawberry.
