Identificación molecular de morfotipos Hemileia vastatrix causante de la roya del café en la provincia de Loja

Abstract

Hemileia vastatrix, commonly known as coffee rust, has caused great losses for the coffee producers. In the present research, the genetic diversity in the different coffee rust morphotypes was studied on infected plants, which were collected in Loja Province, through the analysis of the Ribosomal DNA; these were compared to sequences obtained from GenBank. The analysis of the ITS1, 5.8S, and ITS2 regions in H. vastatrix grouping allowed us to obtain two genotypes that presented a 10% correlation, as well as a complete differentiation of the sequences originated from Colombian strains; however, while analyzing the partial 28S region it was determined that these two genotypes aren’t different, in spite of the morphological differences they present, that can obey climatic or anthropogenic factors (cultivation age, use of fungicides) ; as well as the pathogen’s own characteristics like the reproductive cycle, which was determined as entirely asexual, limiting its genetic variability.