Abstract
The avirulence (AVR) genes of the filamentous ascomycete fungus Magnaporthe oryzae (M. oryzae) are known to mutate rapidly under a higher selection pressure, allowing the pathogen to evade recognition by rice resistance (R) genes. Understanding the geographic distribution and natural variation of AVR genes is critical for the rational utilization and prolonging of the effectiveness of R genes. In this study, a total of 1060 M. oryzae strains collected from 19 rice blast nurseries in 13 provinces across southern China were subjected to presence/absence variation (PAV), genetic variation, and virulence analyses of the AVR-Pita1 gene. PCR amplification results indicated that AVR-Pita1 was present in only 57.45% of the blast strains, with significant geographic variation in distribution frequency. Specifically, the highest frequency (100%) was observed in strains from Chengmai, Hainan, while the lowest (1.79%) was observed in strains from Baoshan, Yunnan. A sequencing analysis identified 29 haplotypes of AVR-Pita1, characterized by insertions, deletions, and base substitutions. A phylogenetic analysis indicated that haplotypes of AVR-Pita1 identified in this study were clustered into one clade. A further amino acid sequence analysis of these haplotypes led to the identification of 25 protein variants. Notably, four haplotypes of AVR-Pita1 exhibited pathogenicity toward its corresponding rice R gene, PtrA. Additionally, we performed allele profiling of Ptr in a collection of elite parental lines that are widely used in rice breeding in southern China and found that the functional Ptr alleles (PtrA, PtrB, and PtrC) accounted for over 70%.