Assessment of Gibberella fujikuroi mating type by PCR

Mating type (MAT )-specific fragments of the two idiomorphs of Gibberella fujikuroi (anamorph, Fusarium moniliforme) were obtained by PCR amplification using primers to conserved regions of MAT homologs from other fungal species and used to assign mating type by molecular criteria rather than the arbitrary historical designation. Mating type − strains of mating populations A-E and a mating type + strain of mating population F carry an α -box motif and should therefore be designated MAT-1. Mating type + strains of mating populations A-E and a mating type − strain of mating population F carry an HMG-box motif and should be designated MAT-2. Thus, assessment of mating type of G. fujikuroistrains can be easily achieved using MAT -specific primers.