Isolation and characterization of the mating type locus of Mycosphaerella fijiensis, the causal agent of black leaf streak disease of banana

Idiomorphs mat1-1 and mat1-2 from Mycosphaerella fijiensis, the causal agent of black leaf streak disease of banana, were isolated. Degenerate oligos were used to amplify the HMG box of the mat1-2 idiomorph from M. fijiensis, showing homology with the HMG box of Mycosphaerella graminicola. Using a DNA walking strategy, anchored on the DNA lyase gene towards the HMG box, a 9-kb-long region of mat1-2 was obtained. A 5-kb fragment from the mat1-1 region was obtained by long-range PCR using primers on the flanking regions, which have close to 100% identity between both idiomorphs. High-identity (77-89%), inverted regions within both idiomorphs were found, which suggest unique inversion events, which have not been found before, and that could have been significant in the evolution of this species. The predicted genes showed the conserved introns in both idiomorphs as well as an additional intron within the alpha box. The implications for the evolution of species in the Mycosphaerella complex on banana are discussed. © 2006 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.