Nucleotide polymorphisms and protein structure changes in the Fg16 gene of Fusarium graminearum sensu stricto

Fusarium graminearum is one of the most important causes of wheat scab in different parts of the world. This fungus is able to produce widespread trichothecene mycotoxins such as nivalenol (NIV) and deoxynivalenol (DON) which are harmful for both human and animals. The Fg16 target is located in chromosome 1 of the F. graminearum genome coding for a hypothetical protein whose function is not yet known. The Fg16 gene is involved in lipid biosynthesis and leads to sexual development during colonization in wheat stalks. This gene is used to detect F. graminearum and determine the lineage of F. graminearum complex species. In the present study, polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformational polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) and DNA sequencing methods were employed in screening for genetic variation in 172 F. graminearum s.s. isolates. The PCR reaction forced the amplification of 410-bp fragments of Fg16. Two single nucleotide polymorphisms (T82C and A352T) and one amino acid exchange (C65S) with three patterns (TA/TA, CT/CT and TA/CT genotypes) were found in the Fg16 gene fragment. Two haplotypes, 1A and 1B, were identified within F. graminearum s.s. populations in northern and western regions of Iran. Two different secondary structures of protein were predicted for CT/CT and TA/CT genotypes of Fg16 gene. The average diversity levels detected were relatively high (He: 0.3238; Heu: 0.334; Ho: 0.2894; mean PIC: 0.514; mean Shannon's information index: 0.4132; mean number of alleles per locus: 1.473). On the basis of the obtained results, it was revealed that the Fg16 gene had a high degree of polymorphism that can be considered for future control programming strategies and thus the associations between the SSCP patterns with different traits of F. graminearum such as wheat colonization, perithecium formation on stalk tissues and lineage discrimination should be investigated.