Frequency of avirulence genes in Leptosphaeria maculans in western Canada

Changes in pathogenicity of populations of Leptosphaeria maculans, the cause of blackleg disease of canola and other Brassica spp., have been observed in western Canada. These changes in the population are believed to have resulted from the use of specific resistance (Rlm) genes in Brassica spp., many of which have only recently been identified. We determined the frequency of 10 avirulence alleles for 96 isolates of L. maculans collected between 1997 and 2005 from Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, Canada from infested canola stubble in field plots or farmers' fields. Cotyledon interaction phenotypes were scored after inoculation of each isolate on a differential set of Brassica varieties or lines carrying the known resistance genes LepR3 and Rlm1 to Rlm10, except for Rlm8. The avirulence (AvrLm) alleles present in each isolate were inferred from the data. Due to the presence of confounding resistance genes in the host differentials, AvrLm1 and AvrLm2 could not be determined in nine of the isolates, AvrLm6 in two isolates and AvrLepR3 in 49. Based on the number of isolates in which the avirulence genes were confirmed, AvrLm1 was detected in 46.0% and AvrLm9 in 60.4% of the isolates in this collection. A high proportion of isolates carried AvrLm2 (96.6%) and AvrLepR3 (97.9%), and all isolates carried AvrLm6 and AvrLm10. The proportion of L. maculans isolates carrying AvrLm3, AvrLm4, AvrLm5 and AvrLm7 was much lower and varied between 10.4 and 29.2%. In total, 16 races of L. maculans were identified based on 10 avirulence alleles, with seven races accounting for 89.7% of the isolates. Information on the avirulence frequency in the pathogen population will be useful for development of resistance management strategies to control blackleg disease in B. napus oilseed rape in western Canada.