A real-time multiplex PCR assay used in the identification of closely related fungal pathogens at the species level.

Abstract

The advent of real-time PCR and new chemistries such as TaqMan™ and SYBR™green has been used in plant pathology to aid in the identification of fungal, bacterial and viral pathogens. These chemistries have provided another tool to be used in the identification of fungal pathogens that are hard to differentiate on the basis of morphology. This work describes an assay that was developed to identify five different species of the pathogen Tilletia that causes smuts and bunts in cereals.