Genetic variation in Heterobasidion abietinum populations detected with the M13 minisatellite marker

Amplification profiles of the M13 minisatellite core sequence from 47 isolates of Heterobasidionannosum s.l., collected mostly from Abies alba in different European countries, were analysed incomparison with profiles of four isolates of H. annosum s.s. and three isolates of H. parviporum.Genetic variation within and among groups of populations was studied by analysis of molecularvariance. A dendrogram constructed with the Neighbor-Joining method differentiated the threespecies from each other. Isolates of H. abietinum from Balkan peninsula, Italian peninsula and FrenchPyrenees each separated into clusters according to geographical origin. Such clear geographic clusteringwas not detected among isolates from central Europe. The variations between H. abietinum isolates inrelation to the migration history of Abies are discussed.