Specific and sensitive detection of the guava fruit anthracnose pathogen () by loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay.

Anthracnose of guava, caused by the fungus , is a major factor limiting worldwide guava production. Timely and accurate detection of the pathogen is important in developing a disease management strategy. Herein, a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay for the specific and sensitive detection of was developed using primers targeting the β-tubulin 2 () gene. The optimal reaction conditions were 64 °C for 60 min. The specificity of the method was tested against isolates, spp. isolates, and isolates of other genera. Positive results were obtained only in the presence of , whereas no cross-reaction was observed for other species. The detection limit of the LAMP assay was 10 fg of genomic DNA in a 25 μL reaction. The LAMP assay successfully detected in guava fruit collected in the field. The results indicate that the developed LAMP assay is a simple, cost-effective, rapid, highly sensitive, and specific tool for the diagnosis of guava anthracnose caused by and could be useful for disease management.