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Detection and quantification of airborne inoculum of Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici using quantitative PCR

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Abstract

In this study, a real-time PCR assay was established to quantify airborne inoculum of Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici (Bgt), the causal agent of wheat powdery mildew. Burkard 7-day recording spore traps were used to collect Bgt spores in air in Langfang City, Hebei Province, China. A linear relationship between number of spores counted with a compound microscope and those determined with the real-time PCR assay was obtained in artificially inoculated spore trap tape sections. The dynamics of airborne conidia concentrations of Bgt were similar. There were significant correlations (P < 0.01) between spore concentrations by using a compound microscope and the real-time PCR assay in three growing seasons. The results demonstrated a potential method to quantitatively determine spore inoculum potential in wheat fields by using a real-time PCR assay.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by National Key Basic Research Program of China (2013CB127704), National Natural Science Foundation of China (31171793), Special Fund for Agro-scientific Research in the Public Interest (201303016) and Science and Technology Project for Xingjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (2013911092).

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Correspondence to Yilin Zhou.

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Cao, X., Yao, D., Zhou, Y. et al. Detection and quantification of airborne inoculum of Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici using quantitative PCR. Eur J Plant Pathol 146, 225–229 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10658-016-0908-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10658-016-0908-8

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