Development of a Rapid Molecular Detection Marker for Colletotrichum species with AFLP

Sweet persimmons have been increasingly cultivated in the southern part of Korea. However, anthracnose disease caused by Colletotrichum species is one of the major hindrances in cultivation and productions. In this study, we used polymerase chain reaction(PCR) to detect Colletotrichum species with the AFLP(amplified fragment length polymorphism) method. In AFLP, we used E3(5'-GACTGCGTACCAATTCTA-3') and M1(5'-GATGAGTCCTGAGTAACAG-3') primer combination and, as a result, 262 bp segment was observed in Colletotrichum species only. Specific PCR primers were designed from the sequence data and used to detect the presence of the fungus in genomic DNA isolated from symptomless sweet persimmon plants. Based on sequence data for specific segments, Co.B1(5'-GAGAGAGTAGAATTGCGCTG-3') and Co.B2(5'-CTACCATTCTTCTA GGTGGG-3') were designed to detect Colletotrichum species. The 220 bp segment was observed in Colletotrichum species only, but not in other fungal and bacterial isolates.

Identification of DNA Markers Linked to Metalaxyl Insensitivity Loci in Phytophthora infestans

A total of 24 isolates of Phytophthora infestans were tested and analyzed for their resistance to metalaxyl fungicides. Sensitivity to metalaxyl was determined by growing isolates on 20% V8 medium amended with 0, 5, and 100 microg/ml metalaxyl. Four isolates among the 24 tested were resistant to metalaxyl. Eleven isolates were intermediate and nine isolates were sensitive. Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) assay was used to identify the amplification products of resistant isolates. As a result, selected fragments were cloned, sequences and primer pairs were developed which linked to metalaxyl insensitivity in P. infestans using competitive PCR.

Isolation and Characterization of the Salicylic Acid Induced Gene in Rehmannia glutinosa by Differential Display

Rehmannia glutinosa is a perennial medicinal plant belonging to the family Scrophulariaceae with more than 300 species known in the world, especially in temperate regions. Its roots have been used widely in Korea for medicinal purposes. However, it is commonly infected by various pathogens during storage, causing great damage to the roots, and impedes the intensive farming of the crop. Therefore, an attempt has been made to isolate and screen a resistance gene against the pathogen Fusarium oxysporum using differential display. We treated salicylic acid (SA), and isolated a resistance gene that responds to SA. As a result, we found that SA was involved in plant defense mechanism in pathogenicity tests with SA treated and non-treted plants, and we isolated a partial PR-la gene through differential display polymerase chain reaction (DD-PCR) method.