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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Salinas, California » Crop Improvement and Protection Research » Research » Research Project #442162

Research Project: Development of a Molecular Assay for Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lactucae

Location: Crop Improvement and Protection Research

Project Number: 2038-22000-019-031-T
Project Type: Trust Fund Cooperative Agreement

Start Date: Apr 1, 2022
End Date: Mar 31, 2024

Objective:
The objective is to validate the use of a TaqMan qPCR Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lactucae specific diagnostic assay for detection of the pathogen and its use for quantification in the soil to predict risk for the growers. As time allows, the assay will be transferred to the isothermal recombinant polymerase amplification technology to provide in-field diagnostic capability.

Approach:
Sequences unique to F. oxysporum f. sp. lactucae were targeted for developing a diagnostic assay for the pathogen. A TaqMan qPCR assay will be validated for detection in host tissue as well as for quantification of the pathogen in soil samples. To facilitate in-field diagnostics, the TaqMan assay will be transferred to the isothermal detection technique recombinant polymerase amplification (RPA). These tools will be used to improve diagnostics and provide a method for growers to assay their soils to assess disease risk.