Phenotypic variation in a clonal lineage of two Phytophthora cinnamomi populations from Western Australia

Seventy-three isolates of Phytophthora cinnamomi were collected from diseased Eucalyptus marginata (jarrah) and Corymbia calophylla (marri) trees in two forest communities in the southwest of Western Australia. Both populations of P. cinnamomi were examined for phenotypic and genotypic variation. Microsatellite DNA analysis showed that all isolates were of the same clonal lineage. We show, for the first time for P. cinnamomi, that morphological and pathogenic variation between populations of the clonal lineage are very broad and continuous. The phenotypes examined included growth rates and colony morphology on potato dextrose agar at different temperatures, sporangial and gametangial morphology, ability to form lesions in detached jarrah and marri stems, and ability to cause deaths of clonal jarrah plants in a glasshouse trial. Phenotype variation was derived asexually. All phenotypes investigated varied independently from one another. Cluster analysis of 24 morphological and pathogenicity phenotypes identified two main clusters of isolates corresponding to each population. The ability to cause deaths in both populations ranged from killing all plants within 59 d to plants being symptomless 182 d after inoculation.