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Molecular methods (digital PCR and real‐time PCR ) for the quantification of low copy DNA of Phytophthora nicotianae in environmental samples
Author(s) -
Blaya Josefa,
Lloret Eva,
SantísimaTrinidad Ana B,
Ros Margarita,
Pascual Jose A
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
pest management science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.296
H-Index - 125
eISSN - 1526-4998
pISSN - 1526-498X
DOI - 10.1002/ps.4048
Subject(s) - digital polymerase chain reaction , biology , real time polymerase chain reaction , polymerase chain reaction , phytophthora nicotianae , pathogen , microbiology and biotechnology , computational biology , phytophthora , genetics , gene , botany
Abstract BACKGROUND Currently, real‐time polymerase chain reaction ( qPCR ) is the technique most often used to quantify pathogen presence. Digital PCR ( dPCR ) is a new technique with the potential to have a substantial impact on plant pathology research owing to its reproducibility, sensitivity and low susceptibility to inhibitors. In this study, we evaluated the feasibility of using dPCR and qPCR to quantify Phytophthora nicotianae in several background matrices, including host tissues (stems and roots) and soil samples. RESULTS In spite of the low dynamic range of dPCR (3 logs compared with 7 logs for qPCR ), this technique proved to have very high precision applicable at very low copy numbers. The dPCR was able to detect accurately the pathogen in all type of samples in a broad concentration range. Moreover, dPCR seems to be less susceptible to inhibitors than qPCR in plant samples. Linear regression analysis showed a high correlation between the results obtained with the two techniques in soil, stem and root samples, with R 2 = 0.873, 0.999 and 0.995 respectively. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that dPCR is a promising alternative for quantifying soil‐borne pathogens in environmental samples, even in early stages of the disease. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry