Open AccessMOLECULAR PCR ASSAYS FOR DETECTION OF Ganoderma PATHOGENIC TO OIL PALM IN MALAYSIA
Author(s) -
Nur Hailini Zainol Hilmi,
Abu Seman Idris,
MOHAMED MAIZATUL-SURIZA,
Madihah Ahmad Zairun,
RAMLI NUR-RASHYEDA
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
malaysian applied biology/malaysian applied biology journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.153
H-Index - 8
eISSN - 2462-151X
pISSN - 0126-8643
DOI - 10.55230/mabjournal.v51i1.2201
Subject(s) - ganoderma , stem rot , internal transcribed spacer , polymerase chain reaction , biology , pathogen , palm oil , microbiology and biotechnology , primer (cosmetics) , elaeis guineensis , ribosomal rna , botany , gene , food science , chemistry , genetics , ganoderma lucidum , organic chemistry
Ganoderma boninense is a fungal pathogen that causes basal stem rot (BSR) disease in oil palm. Being a serious disease problem to the oil palm industry, monitoring and detecting the pathogen is of the utmost importance to reduce disease spread and facilitate effective management strategies. Because traditional culture-based assay is time-consuming, labour-intensive and required special skills in mycology, plant pathologists are turning to more accurate, sensitive and fast methods such as molecular techniques. In this study, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays were developed to detect pathogenic Ganoderma species causing BSR disease in oil palm using a primer designed based on the ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region. The effectiveness of conventional and real-time PCR assays was analysed compared to the traditional isolation-based assay. For artificially inoculated oil palm plantlets, consistent detection of G. boninense was observed. Real-time PCR assay has shown to be more sensitive and rapid in detecting G. boninense in field samples and could potentially serve as a validation tool to other detection techniques for implementation of effective disease control measures.