Genetic variation among Fusarium verticillioides isolates associated with Ethiopian maize kernels as revealed by AFLP analysis Hadush Tsehaye & Abdelhameed Elameen & Anne Marte Tronsmo & Leif Sundheim & Arne Tronsmo & Dereje Assefa & May Bente Brurberg Accepted: 6 May 2016 # Koninklijke Nederlandse Planteziektenkundige Vereniging 2016 Abstract Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) was used to study the genetic variation among 80 F. verticillioides isolates from kernels of Ethiopian maize, collected from 20 different maize growing areas in four geographic regions. A total of 213 polymorphic fragments were obtained using six EcoRI/MseI primer combinations. Analysis of the data based on all 213 polymorphic AFLP fragments revealed high level of genetic variation in the F. verticillioides entities in Ethiopia. About 58% of the fragments generated were polymorphic. The genetic similarity among F. verticillioides isolates varied from 46% to 94% with a mean Dice similarity of 73%. Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic Average (UPGMA) analysis revealed two main groups and four subgroups. The principal coordinate analysis (PCO) also displayed two main groups that agreed with the results of UPGMA analysis, and there was no clear pattern of clustering of isolates according to geographic origin. Analysis of molecular variance: (AMOVA) showed that only 1.5% of the total genetic variation was between geographic regions, while 98.5% was among isolates from the same geographic regions of Ethiopia. Eighty distinct haplo- types were recognized among the 80 isolates analyzed. Hence, breeding efforts should concentrate on quantita- tive resistance that is effective against all genotypes of the pathogen. Keywords AFLP . AMOVA . Fusarium verticillioides . Genetic variation Introduction Maize (Zea mays L.) is currently one of the most impor- tant food crops in Ethiopia, grown under rain fed as well as irrigated agriculture. Maize has high yield potential, and it is a source of important nutrients. The crop plays a key role in food security for millions of people in Ethiopia (Worku et al. 2012). Fungal diseases are among the primary constrains for maize production in Ethiopia, of which F. verticillioides (Sacc.) Nirenberg (teleomorph Gibberella fujikuroi mating population A) (Sawada) Eur J Plant Pathol DOI 10.1007/s10658-016-0958-y Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10658-016-0958-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. H. Tsehaye (*) : A. M. Tronsmo : L. Sundheim : M. B. Brurberg Department of Plant Sciences, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, P.O. Box 5003, NO-1432 Ås, Norway e-mail: hadush.beyene@nmbu.no H. Tsehaye e-mail: had031@yahoo.com H. Tsehaye : D. Assefa Department of Dryland Crop and Horticultural Sciences, Mekelle University, P.O. Box 231, Mekelle, Ethiopia A. Elameen : L. Sundheim : M. B. Brurberg Biotechnology and Plant Health Division, Norwegian Institute for Bioeconomy Research, P.O. Box 115, NO-1431 Ås, Norway A. Tronsmo Department of Chemistry, Biotechnology and Food Science, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, P.O. Box 5003, NO-1432 Ås, Norway