Genetic and Pathogenic Variability of <i>Mycogone perniciosa</i> Isolates Causing Wet Bubble Disease on <i>Agaricus bisporus</i> in China

• Main Authors: Dan Li, Frederick Leo Sossah, Yang Yang, Zhenghui Liu, Yueting Dai, Bing Song, Yongping Fu, Yu Li
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2019-10-01
• Series: Pathogens
• Subjects: aflp; <i>mycogone perniciosa</i>; wet bubble disease; pathogenicity; diversity
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/8/4/179

Wet bubble disease, caused by <i>Mycogone perniciosa</i>, is a major threat to <i>Agaricus bisporus</i> production in China. In order to understand the variability in genetic, pathogenicity, morphology, and symptom production of the fungus, 18 isolates of the pathogen were collected from diseased <i>A</i>. <i>bisporus</i> in different provinces in China. The isolates were characterized by a combination of morphological, cultural, molecular, and pathogenicity testing on different strains of <i>A</i>. <i>bisporus</i> and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analysis. The 18 isolates were identified by Koch&#8217;s postulate and confirmed different pathogenic variability among them. The yellow to brown isolates were more virulent than the white isolates. AFLP markers clustered the isolates into two distinct groups based on their colony color, with a high level of polymorphism of Jaccard similarities range from 0.39% to 0.64%. However, there was no evidence of an association between the genetic diversity and the geographical origin of the isolates. Through knowledge of the genetic diversity, phenotypic virulence of <i>M. perniciosa</i> is a key factor for successful breeding of resistant strains of <i>A</i>. <i>bisporus</i> and developing of an integrated disease management strategy to manage wet bubble disease of <i>A</i>. <i>bisporus</i>.