The anastomosis groups of the corn sheath blight pathogen Rhizoctonia spp. in Huanghuai Plain and Haihe Plain of China
黄淮海地区夏玉米纹枯病菌的融合群鉴定

One hundred and seventy-six isolates were obtained from corn sheath blight samples in Huanghuai Plain and Haihe Plain (including Shandong, Henan, Hebei Provinces and Northern regions of Jiangsu Province) of China. Anastomosis group identification and 5.8S rDNA-internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence analysis showed that the isolates belonged to multinucleate Rhizoctonia AG1-IA, AG1-IB, AG4-HG-I, AG-5 and WAG-Z and binucleate Rhizoctonia AG-A and AG-Ba. Of these, AG-1-IA was the major anastomosis group(AG)（64.20% of total isolates), followed by AG-Ba (12.50%), WAG-Z (10.23%), AG1-IB (5.11%), AG4-HG-I (3.98%), AG-5 (2.27%) and AG-A (1.70%). AG-Ba was isolated for the first time from maize in China. 5.8S rDNA-ITS sequence analysis showed that the isolates could be distinctly separated based on their AG types. The isolates belonging to the same AG (or sub-AG) showed 97%-100% sequence identity.