Rapid Identification of Potato Scab Causing Streptomyces spp. Using Pathogenicity Specific Primers

Abstract

The potato scab is caused by several species of Streptomyces. Among these species, only pathogenic strains were found to produce thaxtomin A characterized by necrotic bioassay and HPLC. In this study, identification of the pathogenic strains of Streptomyces was performed through the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) by using specific pathogenicity primer sets derived from the nec1 gene sequences of Streptomyces scabies. The expected PCR products were obtained approximately 580 bp and confirmed by sequencing. This PCR technique can be used effectively to identify the pathogenic Streptomyces species, that cause scab on potato tubers.