Abstract:In order to reveal the relationship between genetic lineages and pathotypes of Magnaporthe grisea as well as the variability of the fungus at DNA level, 99 isolates of M.grisea from rice growing area in Jiangxi Province were assessed for DNA polymorphism using the rep-PCR (repetitive element-based PCR) technique, and 41 isolates representing various genetic lineages were inoculated on 35 rice cultivars. The results showed that, based on the similarity of fingerprinting, 99 isolates in this study were classified into 14 genetic lineages (GL), in which GL4, GL1, and GL10 were the predominant lineages. The relationship between genetic lineages and pathotypes of M.grisea in Jiangxi was complicated. The same genetic lineage might contain several different pathotypes, while the same pathotype might distribute in different genetic lineages. No certain corresponding relationship was found between genetic lineages and pathotypes.