Scientists Identify Fungal Disease Culprits with Molecular Genetics

Matt Hopkins Posted by Matt Hopkins|29 July 2008

Scientists at Agricultural Research Service (ARS) – the scientific research agency of USDA – have developed a new method that rapidly detects the "genetic fingerprints" of Rhizoctonia root rot fungi, which is responsible for annual wheat losses worth millions of dollars. The real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays, which now detect 10 Pythium and seven Rhizoctonia species, are not yet ready for commercial use. They do, however, provide a foundation for building a comprehensive risk-management database.

The PCR assays’ primary advantages over conventional methods are speed, specificity, and sensitivity. Previously a weeks-long process involving culturing the fungi, examining their features under a microscope, and then conducting greenhouse trials to observe disease symptoms, the assays now yield results in one day.