Mating type gene MAT1-2-1 is common among Japanese isolates of Verticillium dahliae

Mating type genes of Verticillium dahliae, a wilt pathogen affecting many plant species, were identified to examine sexual recombination between Japanese pathotypes. We amplified a DNA sequence encoding high mobility group (HMG) box from V. dahliae using PCR. A cloned genomic DNA fragment included a sequence homologous to MAT1-2-1 gene. Despite that sequence's presence in all V. dahliae isolates we used, MAT1-1-1 (an opposite mating type gene) was never amplified. We concluded that V. dahliae is potentially heterothallic. Furthermore, sexual bias practically obviates sexual recombination between Japanese pathotypes. This report describes, for the first time, a mating type gene of phytopathogenic Verticillium.