LAMP Detection Assays for Boxwood Blight Pathogens: A Comparative Genomics Approach

Area of Science:

• Mycology
• Plant Pathology
• Genomics

Background:

• Emergent fungal pathogens pose significant threats to plant health.
• Accurate and rapid molecular diagnostics are essential for disease management.
• Identifying diagnostic markers for novel fungi is challenging due to limited genetic data.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify unique genomic regions for developing diagnostic assays for boxwood blight fungi, *Calonectria henricotiae* and *C. pseudonaviculata*.
• To establish a novel comparative genomics approach for marker discovery in newly emergent plant pathogens.

Main Methods:

• Comparative genomics analysis of *Calonectria henricotiae*, *C. pseudonaviculata*, and related species.
• Mining genome datasets using three strategies: unique regions, polymorphisms, and presence/absence of regions.
• Development and specificity testing of loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assays.

Main Results:

• Identified candidate marker regions from draft genomes for targeted fungal species.
• Demonstrated LAMP assay specificity against related fungi, common pathogens, and diverse environmental fungal taxa (445 taxa).

Conclusions:

• A comparative genomics strategy effectively identified unique diagnostic markers for emergent fungal pathogens.
• This approach provides a foundation for developing rapid molecular diagnostic tools, such as LAMP assays, for novel plant diseases.