MYCOGEOGRAPHY OF FUSARIUM SPECIES IN SOILS FROM TROPICAL, ARID AND MEDITERRANEAN REGIONS OF AUSTRALIA

Twenty-two Fusarium species as well as three undescribed populations w ere recovered from 42 sites representing three different climatic regi ons: Darwin (tropical), Alice Springs (arid) and Ceduna (mediterranean ). These species were F. acuminatum subsp. acuminatum, F. anthophilum, F. avenaceum subsp. aywerte, F. beomiforme, F. chlamydasporum, F. com pactum, F. dimerum, F. equiseti, F. graminearum Group I, F. lateritium , F. longipes, F. merismoides, F. moniliforme, F. napiforme, F. nygama i, F. oxysporum, F. polyphialidicum, F. proliferatum, F. semitectum, F . scirpi, F. solani, F. subglutinans. Fifteen species were recovered f rom soils from the tropical region, 13 species and three undescribed p opulations from the arid region and seven species from the mediterrane an region. Species found in all three regions were F. dimerum, F. equi seti, F. solani and F. oxysporum. Species recovered only from tropical soils were F. beomiforme, F. longipes, F. moniliforme and F. subgluti nans. F. nygamai and F. scirpi were only recovered from arid soils; an d F, a. acuminatum was only recovered from the mediterranean region. F . chlamydosporum and F. rompactum were isolated frequently from soils in the tropical and arid regions but were more abundant in the arid so ils from Alice Springs.