High-resolution melting curve analysis: A detection assay for Ceratocystis eucalypticola and C. manginecans in infected Eucalyptus.

Eucalyptus spp. in plantations are negatively affected by canker and wilt diseases caused by several species of Ceratocystis, particularly those in the Latin American Clade (LAC). Ceratocystis eucalypticola and Ceratocystis manginecans are of particular concern where disease epidemics are reported globally, with recent outbreaks emerging in South African and Indonesian Eucalyptus plantations. Consequently, a rapid screening protocol is required for these pathogens. In this study, a high-resolution melting curve analysis (HRMA) was developed to detect C. eucalypticola and C. manginecans that bypasses time-consuming isolation and post-PCR procedures. Primers targeting a 172 bp region of the cerato-platanin (CP) gene were designed. Using these primers, the accuracy of HRMA to detect and distinguish between these two LAC species was assessed using pure fungal DNA, and DNA extracted directly from Eucalyptus samples naturally infected with C. eucalypticola. The assay accurately detected the presence of C. eucalypticola and C. manginecans and quantifies their DNA, both from cultures, and directly from wood samples. HRMA further differentiated these two species from all other tested LAC individuals. This assay was also able to detect the presence of all the tested LAC species and distinguish seven of these, including C. fimbriata, to species level. Ceratocystis polyconidia was the only non-LAC off-target species detected. Based on these results, the developed assay can be used to rapidly identify C. eucalypticola and C. manginecans directly from infected plant material or fungal cultures, with the potential to also screen for several other LAC species.