DNA nucleotide sequence homologies between some zoosporic fungi.

Representative species from the monoflagellate Blastocladiales and the biflagellate Saprolegniales were studied for their DNA base composition, heterogeneity, nucleotide sequence homology and divergence. Intergeneric, intrageneric and interstrain DNAs of Blastocladiales were heterogenous. The G+C values for their main component (average 64 percent) and two minor ones (average 52 and 44 percent) were found to be significantly higher than the corresponding values from the biflagellate Saprolegnia ferax (55, 46 and 36 percent respectively). In Allomyces species, the two hybrid, male and female strains were found to have closer homology with their parental types than these last between themselves. Among Blastocladiales, interspecific similarities between the epigynous A. macrogynus and the hypogynous A. arbuscula were higher (average 75 percent) than intergeneric similarities between Allomyces and Blastocladiella (average 58 percent). The biflagellate S. ferax was found to be distantly related to the uniflagellate Allomyces (average 48 percent similarity). The nucleotide sequence divergences obtained from thermal elution data correlated the hybridization values.