Journal of Applied Genetics (2009) 50, 411-419

J. Kaczmarek, M. Jedryczka, B.D.L. Fitt, J.A. Lucas and A.O. Latunde-Dada (2009)
Analyses of air samples for ascospores of Leptosphaeria maculans and L. biglobosa by light microscopy and molecular techniques
Journal of Applied Genetics 50 (4), 411-419
Abstract: Spores of many fungal pathogens are dispersed by wind. Detection of these airborne inocula is important in forecasting both the onset and the risk of epiphytotics. Species-specific primers targeted at the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of Leptosphaeria maculans and L. biglobosa - the causal organisms of phoma stem canker and stem lesions of Brassica spp., including oilseed rape - were used to detect DNA extracted from particles deposited on tapes obtained from a spore trap operated in Rarwino (northwest Poland) from September to November in 2004 and 2006. The quantities of DNA assessed by traditional end-point PCR and quantitative real-time PCR were compared to microscopic counts of airborne ascospores. Results of this study showed that fluctuations in timing of ascospore release corresponded to the dynamics of combined concentrations of DNA from L. maculans and L. biglobosa, with significant positive correlations between ascospore number and DNA yield. Thus the utilization of PCR-based molecular diagnostic techniques enabled the detection, identification, and accurate quantification of airborne inoculum at the species level. Moreover, real-time PCR was more sensitive than traditional PCR, especially in years with low ascospore numbers.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Joanna Kaczmarek, Bruce D.L. Fitt, Malgorzata Jedryczka

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
population dynamics/ epidemiology
transmission/dispersal of plant diseases

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Plenodomus lingam		Poland
	Plenodomus biglobosus		Poland