Differentiation between Acremonium strictum and Fusarium verticillioides infecting corn (Zea mays) seeds is difficult because they present some morphological similarities. Molecular techniques have been applied with success, allowing the development of fast, sensible and specific diagnostic methods for plant pathogens in complement to morphological analysis. The objectives of this work were to characterize and measure the genetic diversity of ten isolates of A. strictum associated with maize (Zea mays) seeds from different brazilian regions, using DNA analysis (RAPD) in comparison with one isolate of F. verticillioides. Twenty-five Operon primers generated polymorphisms that were efficient in grouping A. strictum isolates and in distinguishing them from F. verticillioides. The isolates of A. strictum showed variable intraspecific diversity between 3.4% to 44.4%. No genotypic symilarities were correlated with the geographic origin of the A. strictum isolates.
