Nucleic adaptability of heterokaryons to fungicides in a multinucleate fungus, Sclerotinia homoeocarpa.

Sclerotinia homoeocarpa is the causal organism of dollar spot in turfgrasses and is a multinucleate fungus with a history of resistance to multiple fungicide classes. Heterokaryosis gives rise to the coexistence of genetically distinct nuclei within a cell, which contributes to genotypic and phenotypic plasticity in multinucleate fungi. We demonstrate that field isolates, resistant to either a demethylation inhibitor or methyl benzimidazole carbamate fungicide, can form heterokaryons with resistance to each fungicide and adaptability to serial combinations of different fungicide concentrations.