title: Development of a method for detection and quantification of B. brongniartii and B. bassiana in soil.
abstract: A culture independent method based on qPCR was developed for the detection and quantification of two fungal inoculants in soil. The aim was to adapt a genotyping approach based on SSR (Simple Sequence Repeat) marker to a discriminating tracing of two different species of bioinoculants in soil, after their in-field release. Two entomopathogenic fungi, Beauveria bassiana and B. brongniartii, were traced and quantified in soil samples obtained from field trials. These two fungal species were used as biological agents in Poland to control Melolontha melolontha (European cockchafer), whose larvae live in soil menacing horticultural crops. Specificity of SSR markers was verified using controls consisting of: i) soil samples containing fungal spores of B. bassiana and B. brongniartii in known dilutions; ii) the DNA of the fungal microorganisms; iii) soil samples singly inoculated with each fungus species. An initial evaluation of the protocol was performed with analyses of soil DNA and mycelial DNA. Further, the simultaneous detection and quantification of B. bassiana and B. brongniartii in soil was achieved in field samples after application of the bio-inoculants. The protocol can be considered as a relatively low cost solution for the detection, identification and traceability of fungal bio-inoculants in soil.
authors.affiliation: Council for Agricultural Research and Economics - Research Centre for the Soil-Plant System, Via della Navicella 2-4, 00184 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Canfora
authors.affiliation: Council for Agricultural Research and Economics - Research Centre for the Soil-Plant System, Via della Navicella 2-4, 00184 Rome, Italy.|Research Institute of Horticulture, ul. Konstytucji 3 Maja 1/3, 96-100 Skierniewice, Poland.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Malusà
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Protection and Breeding, Siedlce University of Natural Sciences and Humanities, Prusa 14 Street, 08-110 Siedlce, Poland.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tkaczuk
authors.affiliation: Research Institute of Horticulture, ul. Konstytucji 3 Maja 1/3, 96-100 Skierniewice, Poland.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tartanus
authors.affiliation: Research Institute of Horticulture, ul. Konstytucji 3 Maja 1/3, 96-100 Skierniewice, Poland.
authors.forename: B H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Łabanowska
authors.affiliation: Council for Agricultural Research and Economics - Research Centre for the Soil-Plant System, Via della Navicella 2-4, 00184 Rome, Italy.|Life Science Department, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD, UK.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pinzari
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D052982:Beauveria / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D004271:DNA, Fungal / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics; D027845:Malus / Q000254:growth & development; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats / Q000235:genetics*; D025282:Mycelium / Q000235:genetics; D016533:Mycological Typing Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D058441:Rhizosphere; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry; D012988:Soil Microbiology; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D004271:DNA, Fungal; D012987:Soil