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Rapid detection of Raffaelea lauricola directly from host plant and beetle vector tissues using loop-mediated isothermal amplification

Formally Refereed

Abstract

Since its introduction in 2002, laurel wilt disease has devastated indigenous lauraceous species in the southeastern United States. The causal agent is a fungal pathogen, Raffaelea lauricola, which after being introduced into the xylem of trees by its vector beetle, Xyleborus glabratus, results in a fatal vascular wilt. Rapid detection and accurate diagnosis of infections is paramount to the successful implementation of disease management strategies. Current management operations to prevent the spread of laurel wilt disease are largely delayed by time-consuming laboratory procedures to confirm the diagnosis. In order to greatly speed up the operations, we developed a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) species-specific assay that targets the β-tubulin gene region of R. lauricola, and allows for the rapid detection of the pathogen directly from host plant and beetle tissues. The assay is capable of amplifying as low as 0.5 pg fungal DNA and as few as 50 conidia. The assay is also capable of detecting R. lauricola directly from wood tissue of artificially inoculated redbay saplings as early as 10 and 12 days post inoculation, when testing high quality and crude DNA extracts, respectively. Finally, crude DNA extracts of individual adult female X. glabratus beetles were assayed and the pathogen was detected from all specimens. This assay greatly reduces the time required to confirm a laurel wilt diagnosis, and because LAMP technology is well suited to provide point-of-care testing, it has the potential to expedite and facilitate implementation of management operations in response to disease outbreaks.

Keywords

laurel wilt disease, LAMP, Xyleborus glabratus, Persea borbonia, Sassafras albidum, early detection rapid response, crude DNA

Citation

Hamilton, Jeffrey L.; Workman, J. Noah; Nairn, Campbell J.; Fraedrich, Stephen W; Villari, Caterina. 2020. Rapid detection of Raffaelea lauricola directly from host plant and beetle vector tissues using loop-mediated isothermal amplification . Plant Disease. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-02-20-0422-RE.
Citations
https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/60799