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Immunomonitoring air‐borne fungal plant pathogens: Mycosphaerella brassicicola *
Author(s) -
Wakeham A. J.,
Kennedy R.,
Byrne K. G.,
Keane G.,
Dewey F. M.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
eppo bulletin
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.327
H-Index - 36
eISSN - 1365-2338
pISSN - 0250-8052
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2338.2000.tb00932.x
Subject(s) - spore , biology , trap (plumbing) , pathogen , botany , microbiology and biotechnology , environmental science , environmental engineering
Detection and enumeration of air‐borne spores of fungal plant pathogens has generally been achieved by microscopic examination of surfaces on which spores have been impacted and conventional agar‐plating techniques. However, this requires considerable amounts of time and expertise. Such methods are inaccurate for obligate pathogens and unrealistic where there is no selective medium or where there are spore types of similar morphology (such as those produced by ascosporic fungi). In field disease‐transmission studies, the use of a Burkard 7‐day volumetric spore trap combined with an immunofluorescence test has, however, enabled the detection and quantification of field‐trapped ascosporic inoculum of Mycosphaerella brassicicola (the ringspot pathogen of brassicas). This test has also been found useful in the validation of more rapid user‐friendly immunoassay‐based trapping procedures. A microtitre immunospore trapping device, which uses a suction system to trap air particulates directly by impaction into microtitre wells, has been used successfully for the rapid detection and quantification of ascosporic inoculum of M. brassicicola. The system shows potential for field detection of air‐borne ascosporic inoculum of the ringspot pathogen.