Characterization and Genetic Diversity of Benzimidazole-resistant and -sensitive Monilinia fructicola Isolates in Korea

To characterize benzimidazole-resistant and -sensitive Monilinia fructicola populations, the fungal isolates were obtained from peach plants showing brown rot and bloosom blight. Benzimidazole-sensitive isolates did not grow on potato dextrose agar(PDA) amended with $\geq1.0{\mu}g$ active ingredient(a.i.)/ml of the fungicides. However, benzimidazole-resistant isolates grew on PDA regardless of the tested concentrations of fungicides. Benzimidazole-resistant isolates did not grow on diethofencarb-PDA, but sensitive isolates grew on the same PDA. In the nucleotide sequences of $\beta$ -tubulin gene, only codon 198(GAG: glutamic acid), a target site for benzimidazole, was replaced with GCG(alanine) in all of the resistant isolates, and this substitution seems to play an important role in the development of resistance. Other interesting codons such as 165(GCT), 200(TTC), and 241(GCT) were not changed among the isolates. Benzimidazole-resistant and -sensitive isolates were clustered clearly in random amplified polymerphic DNA analyses and the results revealed that low levels of genetic diversity between benzimidazole-sensitive and -resistant isolates of M. fructicola in the investigated regions.