Detection and Quantification of Anthracnose Pathogen in Cultivated Tea-Oil Species from Southern China Using a DNA-Based qPCR Assay.

Tea-oil species as edible-oil producing trees are widely cultivated in southern China. anthracnose that is mainly caused by is a major disease of tea-oil trees. However, rapid detection and precise quantification of in different species that are crucial for the fundamental study of this pathosystem and effective disease management remain largely unexplored. Here, we developed a sensitive, rapid, and accurate method for quantifying growth in different species using a quantitative PCR assay. Amplified DNA using ITS-specific primers is relatively compared with the amplification of using the gene. We determined that the fungal growth is tightly associated with the disease development in following infection in a time-course manner. This assay is highly sensitive, as fungal growth was detected in six different inoculated tea-oil species without visible disease lesion symptoms. Additionally, this method was validated by quantifying the anthracnose in orchards that did not show any disease symptoms. This assay enables the rapid, highly sensitive, and precise detection and quantification of growth in different tea-oil species, which will have a practical application for early diagnosis of anthracnose disease under asymptomatic conditions in breeding and field and will facilitate the development of tea-oil trees and interaction as a mold system to study woody plant and fungal pathogens interaction.