Investigating in vitro mating preference between or within the two forms of Pyrenophora teres and its hybrids
Net blotch diseases result in significant yield losses to barley industries worldwide. They occur as net-form and spot-form net blotch caused by P. teres f. teres (Ptt) and P. teres f. maculata (Ptm), respectively. Hybridisation between the forms was proposed to be rare, but recent identifications of field hybrids has renewed interest in the frequency and mechanisms underlying hybridisation. This study investigates the mating preference of Ptt, Ptm and laboratory-produced hybrids in vitro, using 24 different isolates and four different experimental setups. Two crosses in our study produced ascospores during two intervals separated by a 32-35 day period of no ascospore production. For these crosses Ptt isolates mated with isolates of the same form during the early ascospore production interval and produced hybrids during the later interval. Ptm isolates did not mate with isolates of the same form, instead hybridised with Ptt isolates. Analyses based on DArTseq™ markers confirmed that laboratory-produced hybrids, when given the choice to mate with both Ptt and Ptm, mated with Ptt isolates. These results unravel a novel concept that Ptt seems to have a greater reproduction robustness than Ptm, which could lead to increased prevalence of hybrid incidences in vivo.