Mating Behavior, Mycotoxin Production, and Vegetative Compatibility of Gibberella fujikuroi Species Complex from Sorghum in Korea

Fusarium isolates of Gibberella fujikuroi species complex were obtained from sorghum grown in five provinces of Korea in 1996 and 1997. These isolates were characterized based on their mating behavior, mycotoxin production, and vegetative compatibility. Only three mating populations (A, D, and F) were recovered from a total of 155 isolates examined. The relative frequency of the mating populations was significantly different: F was predominant (80%), while D and A were observed at low frequencies of 9% and 3%, respectively. Female fertile isolates were more common within F (44 our of 124) than D (2 out of 14), while none of the five A isolates were female fertile. The inbreeding effective population sizes ($\textrm{N}_e$)for mating type and male/hermaphrodite ratios in mating populations A and D produced significant amounts of fumonisins, while F isolates produced none or only traces of fumonisin B$_1$. In contrast. F isolates produced higher amounts of moniliformin (average of 3,820 ppm) than A and D isolates (averages of 77 and 1,819 ppm, respectively). Fifty-one isolates were tested for vegetative compatibility using nitrogen non-utilization mutants of each isolate, and 44 vegetative compatibility groups (VCGs) were identified. A single VC type (VC1) was found in all of the five A isolates examined. Six of the D isolates examined consisted of three VC types: two for VC2, two for VC3, and the rest for VC4. All of the F isolates tested were incompatible in every combination and , thus, each constituted a unique VCG.