Polymerase chain reaction‐based detection of Fusarium circinatum, the causal agent of pitch canker disease

Abstract

Pitch canker is a highly damaging disease of Pinus radiata and the New Zealand forest industry is concerned by the potential impact of the disease, should it arrive, in New Zealand. To provide a rapid identification technique for this pathogen, a polymerase chain reaction-based diagnostic method has been developed. The method is able to detect the presence of the pathogen within infected host tissue, as well as infested soil and the reliability of the test has been estimated using Bayesian statistics.

Culture-independent detection and quantification ofFusarium circinatumin a pine-producing seedling nursery

“…Of these, PCR-based methods using specific probes and primers allow for the simultaneous detection and quantification of the pathogen, especially when combined with quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR). Due to their sensitivity, these methods can be used to detect and quantify F. circinatum contamination in seed lots (Ioos et al 2009;Dreaden et al 2012) or to detect the pathogen in infected plant material (Schweigkofler et al 2004;Ramsfield et al 2008). These qPCR-based methods can also be used to obtain epidemiological data by, for example, quantifying the airborne conidia of F. circinatum associated with pitch canker outbreaks (Schweigkofler et al 2004;Garbelotto et al 2008).…”

Plant health surveys for the EU territory: an analysis of data quality and methodologies and the resulting uncertainties for pest risk assessment (PERSEUS) CFP/EFSA/PLH/2010/01

“…What is the performance of the test method? (if used) Very specific and effective molecular methods have been developed for Gibberella circinata identification on samples analysed in laboratory and even for direct detection in planta (Perez-Sierra et al 2007, Ramsfield et al 2008, Ioos et al 2009). DNA analysis method is quite reliable (without false positive or negative).…”

A review of pest surveillance techniques for detecting quarantine pests in Europe

“…A detailed characterization of pitch canker fungus isolates using PCR-RFLP analysis was used to confirm the establishment of the pathogen in Chile (Jacobs et al, 2007) and in Spain (Perez-Sierra et al, 2007), where mating types showing virulence differences were identified by multiplex PCR. As pitch canker could be a threat for the New Zealand forest industry, a PCR-based diagnostic method was developed to detect the pathogen within infected host tissues and in infested soil (Ramsfield et al, 2008).…”