Abstracto

Detection and quantification of Uromyces setariae-italicae in foxtail millet by a real-time PCR assay

Nan Wang, Zhiping Dong, Hui Bai, Li Dong, Yongfang Wang, Jianzhang Quan, Lei Liu, Zhiyong Li

Rust is a plant disease that has posed a serious problem to foxtail millet cultivation in Northern China since 1980. In this study, we developed a real-time fluorescence, quantitative PCR assay to accurately quantify genomic DNA of U. setariae-italicae based on the ITS region of rDNA gene. The resulting assay was highly species-specific, and was insensitive to DNA of other fungal isolates. The limit of quantification of the assay was 10 fg/ μl, and it was able to detect the rust fungus in foxtail millet leaves 6 h post inoculation. This work is mainly about the development of a molecular tool for the detection of U. setariae-italicae and will be helpful in diagnosis of rust infections in foxtail millet.